Story highlights
- Charities took action in the wake of the 9/11 attacks; a few continue to make a difference
- Americans can give back on September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance
(CNN)Nearly 3,000 people died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks coordinated by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Extremists hijacked four airliners, crashing two into New York's World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon near Washington. A fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania as passengers tried to overcome the hijackers.
Charities flocked then to provide emergency assistance and more. Today, a few continue to make a difference in the lives of those affected. Here is a list:
- The Family of Freedom Scholarship Fund provides education assistance to dependents of those killed or injured in the attacks. The fund, established within one week of 9/11, says it will ultimately award more than $100 million in postsecondary education aid. Some 400 to 600 students per year are expected to need funds until 2022.
Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – A group from the U.S. Navy gathers Thursday, September 11, at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This year marks the 13th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and western Pennsylvania.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – A woman bows her head in prayer in Shanksville, where United Airlines Flight 93 went down.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – Family members gather in the rain at the impact site in Shanksville.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – From left, U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey stand on stage as they participate in a ceremony at the Pentagon.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – Obama and Hagel bow their heads during the ceremony at the Pentagon.
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Remembering 9/11 – A woman reaches out to touch a rose on one of the benches at the Pentagon Memorial.
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Remembering 9/11 – Tyrone McClave, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, looks up at One World Trade Center during a moment of silence in New York.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – Members of the New York Police Department, the New York Fire Department and the Port Authority Police Department carry an American flag past one of the reflecting pools during memorial observances at the World Trade Center site.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – Members of the New York Fire Department take time to reflect.
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Remembering 9/11 – Paola Braut, of Belgium, kisses a photograph of her son Patrice along the edge of the North Pool of the World Trade Center site.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – A man stands across the street from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – Eileen Esquilin hugs her husband, Joe Irizarry, while mourning the loss of her brother, Ruben Esquilin Jr., during memorial observances in New York.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – Former New York Gov. George Pataki, left, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani were among those in attendance at the World Trade Center.
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Photos: Photos: Remembering 9/11
Remembering 9/11 – Sam Pulia, the mayor of Westchester, Illinois, and a former police officer of the same town, mourns over the name of his cousin, New York firefighter Thomas Anthony Casoria, who was killed on 9/11.
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- The 9/11 Memorial honors and remembers the victims of September 11 and the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center through a museum, a memorial list of victims' names, and a repository of remains for victims' family members to visit.
- HEART 9/11 deploys volunteers from the New York police and fire departments, the Port Authority Police Department and the NYC Building Trades to areas hit hard by tragedy. The charity has responded to disasters in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Haiti and areas affected by Superstorm Sandy.
- FealGood Foundation is a nonprofit group that secures care for first responders who were injured mentally or physically during the 9/11 rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts. John Feal was inspired to start the foundation in 2005. As a demolition supervisor at ground zero, Feal was severely injured when an 8,000-pound steel beam crushed his foot. He later had the foot amputated, but he wasn't eligible to get help from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund because his injury didn't happen within the first 96 hours after the attacks.
- The FDNY Foundation is not specifically a 9/11 charity, but it directly supports the men and women of the New York City Fire Department, which lost 343 first responders in the attacks. The foundation provides access to counseling services and support for family members of those lost during the call of duty.
- The Michael Lynch Foundation was set up to honor the memory of Michael Lynch, a firefighter who died on September 11. The foundation uses grants to provide educational opportunities to children of 9/11 victims and firefighters --- both fallen and active.
- If you're unable to donate money, the September 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance offers another way to contribute. In 2002, MyGoodDeed launched the day as a yearly tribute of charitable service. In 2009, Congress designated the date as a day of service, and it is now one of the largest days of charitable service.
- Thousands of students and military and veteran families will benefit from service projects from Points of Lights on 9/11. With 9/11 Day you can take the good deed challenge. All you have to do is pledge to do a good dead and share it on Facebook with the hashtag #911day.
