For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Julie Dennehy, julie@dennehypr.com

Pay It Forward 9/11 Launches Kindness Lesson Plans

NEW YORK/AUSTIN Tx. (Sept. 11, 2024) – Each year leading up to the anniversary of 9/11, schools and communities are encouraged to perform three random acts of kindness for strangers for #11DaysOfKindness. As part of the 23rd annual campaign, Pay it Forward 9/11 is providing comprehensive lesson plans for educators to support these efforts in schools.

Pay it Forward 9/11 board member Matthew Mingle spearheaded the effort.

“Our children see volatility and rancor all around them. Teachers across the country work hard every day to inspire students to be kind and empathetic,” Mingle stated. “Bringing the great work of Pay It Forward 9/11 and its 11 Days of Kindness for Kids campaign is essential for the current moment.”

Mingle worked with ASCD Emerging Leaders - exceptional educators from across the world recognized for their contributions to the educational space - to develop comprehensive lesson plans for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

Dr. Meghan Everette, Dr. Felix Yerace, and Jennifer Orr created ready-to-use plans with everything needed to implement in the classroom including handouts, essential questions, vocabulary, procedures, extension opportunities, debrief questions, and more. There are even book list suggestions for classroom and school libraries.

Created in tribute to the compassionate people of small towns in the island province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, Pay It Forward 9/11 was started in 2002 by an airline passenger stranded there, wondering if others would do the same where they lived.

“We pledged to never forget,” said Kevin Tuerff, president and founder of Pay it Forward 9/11. “Our 11 Days of Kindness campaign honors those killed in 2001 on 9/11, and also the heroes who volunteered with acts of compassion, much like what I experienced when my 9/11 Trans-Atlantic flight was diverted to an island province in Canada. Thousands of unexpected travelers were provided necessities of food, clothing, and shelter for five days and their kindness continues decades later through Pay It Forward 9/11.”

Mingle added, “Inspiring children to lead us in these efforts is critically important. By bringing the educational expertise of ASCD Emerging Leaders together with the mission and kindness campaign of Pay it Forward 9/11, educators and their students can honor the memories of the lives lost on 9/11, celebrate the compassion of those who came together in the days and weeks following 9/11, and show us a path forward that is empathetic and kind.”

Due to the generosity of Pay it Forward 9/11’s sponsors, the lesson plans are offered free of charge to all educators. Visit https://www.payitforward911.org/kids to download.

The 23rd anniversary of Pay it Forward 9/11 is supported by the producers and writers of Come From Away musical, Dell Technologies, Love Tito’s Foundation, Trinity Wall Street Downtown Fund, and Gallin & Son. Learn more at http://payitforward911.org, the book Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11, or Facebook. Pay it Forward 9/11, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization registered in New York.

Pay It Forward 9/11, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)3 registered with the Internal Revenue Service. Contributions are tax-deductible. For additional questions or partnership ideas, email info@payitforward911.org.

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