Remembrance

Who we are:
My name is Angelica Branco, I am an senior at Lyndhurst High School, graduating in June 2011, in Lyndhurst NJ.

My dad worked in Tower 2 on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center and he came home that day. For the past 8 years my mom, dad and I have attended the ceremonies at the World Trade Center Site.

I have heard that over 3000 children under the age of 18 lost a parent and as I stand there, I wonder what my life would be like if my dad did not come home that day.

Purpose:
September 11th, 2001 was a day that changed our country forever. There were almost 3000 victims in the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93. This year will mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks.

I want children our age to remember the events of that day. We are the future and it’s up to us to remember it and make sure it does not happen again and to NEVER FORGET.

What we want to do:
September 11, 2006: 

For the 5 year day of remembrance we released almost 3000 balloons, one for every person who died.  I got this idea from watching Extreme Makeover – Home Edition one night. A mother runs a non-profit organization that reunites missing children and their families. Ten years after their daughter Morgan disappeared they launched 3,650 balloons, one balloon for each day Morgan was gone. They attached a picture and a description of Morgan to each balloon.

I came up with an idea of releasing almost 3,000 balloons, one balloon for each person lost on that horrible day. We want to attach a ribbon or a tag to each balloon with the person’s name so we can remember each and every person who did not come home that day, this will serve as our little tribute to these people.

September 10, 2011:
For the 10th anniversary we want to release 3000 balloons again, one for every person who died.  I want to have a ceremony that not only remembers the people who died but to also celebrate their lives.  I want to honor the families who have lost so much and bring hope for the families and I want them to know that we still remember their loss.

As I grow up and become an adult, it is important to me that the adults of tomorrow remember what happened.  I want to get the children involved from our district in our memorial service so the future generations know what happened and NEVER FORGET. 

Donations
100% of all monies collected will go towards this event, any unused money will be split between two September 11 organizations: the Families of September 11 and the 911 Families Association, neither  organization endorses local events. Financial statement will be available after the event upon request.

Environment Issue:
Our latex balloons are bio-degradable, we will be using paper tags and string which are also bio-degradable. See web site:
http://www.balloonhq.com/BalloonCouncil/faq.html#bio for more info.

Remembrance Booklet:
We will be printing a booklet to hand out at our ceremony. If you would like your contribution recognized, please send your text or camera ready art to the physical or email address listed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,_2001_attacks#Fatalities