Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.--The Maroon Volunteer Center at Mississippi State is announcing several days of memorial tributes and service opportunities as part of the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.
Activities are open to university students, faculty and staff, as well as members of local communities, interested in commemorating the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
Partnering with Volunteer Starkville, the MVC is organizing a local "I WILL" tribute movement. The effort encourages Americans to make individual pledges of "a good deed, charitable activity, or other plans, to honor the 9/11 victims, survivors and those that rose in service in response to the attacks," according to the website www.911day.org.
"Pledge cards will be distributed throughout campus and the Starkville community to allow people to pledge service in support of 9/11 victims and heroes," said Meggan Franks, volunteer center coordinator. The cards, also available in the MVC office at 306 South Hall, will be submitted to the National 9/11 Tribute website, she added.
"Tribute booths will be set up on the MSU Drill Field Thursday [Sept. 8] to allow campus and community members to tell their stories and offer their tributes on camera," Franks said.
The booths will begin videotaping at approximately 10:30 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Recorded in 20-second formats, the tributes also will be compiled and posted to the national website.
Friday [Sept. 9], the center will participate in the East Oktibbeha Memorial Ceremony, a series of remembrance activities beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding with a balloon release at 2 p.m. At 8:30 a.m., shuttle service to the ceremony will begin from South Hall's front entrance.
The Maroon Edition Habitat for Humanity service project will include two shifts Friday and Saturday [the 10th] where volunteers may pledge their time in honor of 9/11.
The week's activities conclude at 2 p.m. Sunday with a 9/11 tribute at Starkville Fire Station One on University Drive. MSU Provost Jerry Gilbert and Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman will be among speakers at the event.
In addition to honoring victims and heroes, the public ceremony also will recognize local fire, police and other emergency responders.
For more information about the week's activities, or to volunteer to assist with any of the activities, visit http://mvc.msstate.edu/iwill/.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see www.msstate.edu.