NEW YORK, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Salvation Army, the first agency to
respond to the World Trade Center tragedy on September 11th, 2001, and the
last to leave Ground Zero when recovery efforts concluded, will participate in
this year's commemorative observance to be held at the World Trade Center site
on Thursday, Sept. 11, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Three Salvation Army mobile canteens, used in response to the WTC
disaster, will be positioned at the World Trade Center location to serve cold
water to uniformed personnel and families of victims gathered for the memorial
service. Fifty Salvation Army volunteers, along with staff, are expected to
operate the canteen service.
The Salvation Army's participation will also include a team of counselors
and representatives who will serve as part of a special Mayor's Honor Guard,
according to Major George Polarek, Social Services Secretary for The Salvation
Army's Greater New York Division and former Command Chief for The Salvation
Army's WTC response efforts.
Salvation Army officers and staff members will be part of an all-agency
honor guard made up of individuals from New York City, New York State, and
federal agencies; New York City Fire and Police Departments; Port Authority
Police Department; and other non-profit agencies, along with representatives
of victims' families. The honor guard will be positioned along the ramp
leading into the pit where the World Trade Center once stood.
Children will have a large role in this year's ceremony by reading the
names of the victims and performing music through the program. The ceremony
will pause four times, twice to mark the times that each plane hit the towers
and twice to mark the times when each tower fell.
The first moment of silence will be at 8:46 a.m. and houses of worship
citywide will be encouraged to toll their bells at that time. While the names
are read, family members will be able to descend the ramp to the lowest level
of the site where they may lay flowers. Former New York City Mayor Rudolph W.
Giuliani and New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey will join Mayor Michael
Bloomberg and Governor George Pataki at the ceremony.
At sundown the "Tribute in Light" will return for one night as a tribute
to the memory of those lost and a symbol of the spirit of the great City of
New York. For months following the disaster, The Salvation Army served more
than four million meals to recovery workers from a large tent located between
the original two columns of light.
The Salvation Army's WTC Social Services continues to serve many victims
of the disaster, providing food, clothing, counseling, child care, and
employment services for those impacted by the tragedy. In the last two years,
The Salvation Army has assisted nearly 27,000 families who have a suffered as
a result of the disaster.
SOURCE The Salvation Army
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Related links:
http://www.salvationarmy-newyork.org
CONTACT:
Craig Evans, +1-212-337-7330, for The
Salvation Army
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