Mena, Arkansas (where I live) recently recieved a very special gift. Almost 300 volunteers from across the U.S. gave of themselves to assist Mena in the continued recovery from last year's deadly tornado. The volunteers were with an organization called
'New York Says Thank You'. Each year on the 9/11 anniversary, this generous organization sends hundreds of volunteers from New York along with other disaster survivors to help rebuild disaster ravaged communities around the United States. It is a way of saying "Thank You" for all the love and support that Americans extended to New Yorkers in the days, weeks and months following the September 11th attacks.
volunteers working on 4H Office Building
And in addition to the volunteers who worked on at least 4 different build sites, Mena was host to the National 9/11 Flag. This 30 ft. Flag was destroyed when the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed. It was soon discovered and hung tattered and shredded at a site across from Ground Zero. This flag is now being stitched back together with flags that have survived disasters in other areas. Mena contributed the Polk County Courthouse flag which sustained a direct hit from last year's tornado.
Thank you for sharing this with us! It's comforting when one sees something good come from something so horrible.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great organization! And the National 9/11 Flag is a wonderful idea too. Wonderful symbols of strength and survival.
ReplyDeleteI read about this in the paper. What a great organization.
ReplyDeleteHaving the wonderful people from the New York Says Thank You Foundation here in Mena and getting to see in person the National 9/11 Flag in person made this 911 anniversary more meaningful for me. Instead of thinking of the negatives, it brought to mind the positives of this great country and it's people.
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