Community invited to serve and remember at these 9/11 events
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POCATELLO — An organization at Idaho State University is coming together next week to honor the lives lost on 9/11 and is inviting the community to participate.
There will be multiple events put on by ISU’s 9/11 Day of Service, a nonprofit, which is one of many AmeriCorps programs around the nation. It is federally funded. This is the second year of the 9/11 Day of Service in Pocatello.
“The program focuses on five different areas, including disaster preparedness, food insecurity, poverty, senior and veteran isolation, and honoring lives lost on 9/11,” said Kayla Fielder, lead grant project coordinator at ISU.
A kick-off event will be on Monday, Sept. 8, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Idaho State University Quad in Pocatello to appreciate all those who served and sacrificed. There will be a hands-on service project to support local veterans.
“Community members will come and make veteran kits … to show our appreciation,” Fielder said.
There will also be a presentation, and people in attendance can take a small American flag and put it in the grass.
Thursday, Sept. 11, is the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. It’s the main event and is family-friendly, open to everyone and free to attend. It’s from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the ICCU Dome. It’s a “powerful evening of remembrance, connection, and reflection.”
“Participants will come and climb 110 flights of stairs in honor of those lives that were lost. There were 110 flights of stairs in the towers. It’s kind of stepping into the shoes of those first responders that day. We do get some first responders that climb in full gear,” Fielder said.
Fielder added that organizers are looking for volunteers to help at the stair climb. Click here if you are interested in helping.
The last event is the Community Emergency Preparedness Fair on Saturday, Sept. 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the ISU SUB ballroom.
“We have a ton of booths from the Bannock County Emergency Preparedness division. We’ve got booths on water storage, food storage and how to work with your neighbors if your power goes out,” she said. “Last year, we had a really good turnout. We had (Smokey Bear) there. You could take pictures with him.”
The week will be filled with service in the community and will be memorable. Fielder said it’s important to remember that day, especially since the younger generation does not know about it as much.
“We’re getting to a point in time where some of the kids that are up and coming, they weren’t alive when it happened. They don’t know the devastation it took and what it did to us,” she said. “What we would really like to highlight is how in the face of absolute devastation, we came together as a community and how important it is to keep your hands in your community.”
