Voices Newsletter



February 14, 2010

Dear Families and Friends,

Our thanks to everyone who participated in the 10th Anniversary survey. Your input continues to guide our programs and will help us prepare for our 10th Annual Day of Remembrance events. If you haven't had a chance to participate yet, we encourage you to take the survey by clicking here. Our staff appreciates your suggestions and will respond to your questions.

You may have recently received a survey in the mail or via email from the Mental Health Association. In order to simplify the process for our membership, we will compile a summary of your requirements for hotel reservations and special needs. Your responses will be held confidential.

You should have received a mailing from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum reminding families that the deadline for families to submit a portrait photograph for the Wall of Faces has been extended to April 30, 2011. If you have already participated in a 9/11 Living Memorial workshop, your photographs have already been transferred to the Museum. If you haven't yet participated, VOICES is hosting workshops each week in several communities and offering daily appointments in our offices in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Since the tragic shootings in Tucson, many of you have inquired about ways we can support the families of the six victims and thirteen injured survivors. As we know firsthand, the support of compassionate individuals who understand is instrumental in helping us through the healing process. Valentine's Day is an appropriate time to announce a Building Bridges Project - creating a community of support for the families in Tucson.

If you would like to participate in the Building Bridges project personal notes can be sent via email to Susan Dahill at sdahill@voicesofsept11.org. If you would like to send a personalized card, a book, or a quilt, please mail it to: Voices of September 11th, 161 Cherry Street, New Canaan CT. 06840. You can also arrange to drop items off at either of our offices. We plan to send the care packages to Tucson on March 1st.

All of us at VOICES wish you a wonderful Valentine's Day. As always, our thoughts are with the special people in our lives who are not with us today. We look forward to working with you as we prepare for the Tenth Anniversary.


Warm Regards
Signature
Mary Fetchet & The VOICES Staff
 



CALENDAR OF EVENTS

9/11 Living Memorial
Workshop Appointments


New Canaan, Connecticut
Monday - Friday

New Brunswick, New Jersey
Tuesdays and Thursdays

Rockville Centre, New York
Tuesday, February 15th

Morris County, New Jersey
Tuesday, February 15th

West Nyack, New York
Thursday, February 17th

Staten Island, New York
Thursday, February 24th

Paramus, New Jersey
Thursday, February 24th

For a full schedule of upcoming
workshop appointments Click Here.



VOICES Teleconference Schedule

Tuesday, February 15th:
Rockland In-Person Group
7:00pm to 9:00pm


Wednesday, February 16th:
Siblings' Teleconference Group
2:30pm to 3:30pm


Tuesday, February 22nd:
Witness/Survivors' Support Group
4:00pm to 5:00pm


Tuesday, March 1st:
Firefighter Mothers' Group
10:00am to 11:00am


Tuesday, March 1st:
Parents' Support Group
3:45pm to 5:00pm


Tuesday, March 1st:
Parenting Teleconference Group
9:00pm to 10:00pm


For a full schedule of upcoming teleconference groups Click Here.

For a complete list of events visit our website at www.voicesofsept11.org.

To add an event to our calendar contact newsletters@voicesofsept11.org.




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VOICES Plans Its Spring Benefit
Sprint Benefit
It isn't too early to be thinking about Spring - and definitely not too early to start thinking about the Spring "Always Remember" benefit. We are still finalizing our plans and beginning to solicit donations for the auction, which is always a fun part of the event. If you can contribute an item for the auction - sporting event tickets, restaurant vouchers, theatre tickets, travel vouchers, gift certificates - please contact Stephanie Cowin at 203-966-3911 or scowin@voicesodsept11.org.

Have you taken our survey yet?
Survey?
Have you had a chance to take our survey yet? We are asking our members to share their thoughts on what their needs are leading up to the 10th Anniversary. Your suggestions will help guide our programs in the coming months and will help our staff plan our 10th Annual Day of Remembrance events on September 10th and September 11th. Is there a specific topic you would like to discuss or a special need that you or your family members have? Now is a good time to tell us what you think! More.

John D Solomon Emergency Preparedness Award
Preparedness AwardMayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Office of Community Management (OEM) Commissioner Joseph R. Bruno announced the creation of a new emergency preparedness award to honor the late John D. Solomon at the graduation ceremony for 122 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers on January 13, 2011. John Solomon was an active member of his team on Manhattan's Upper East Side. He made emergency preparedness his life’s work and labored tirelessly to involve the community in his preparedness efforts. In addition to being an active CERT member, Solomon maintained a preparedness blog, had begun work on a family preparedness book, and wrote several newspaper articles on the topic. More.

Keep us up to date!
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Have you moved, changed your phone number, or your email address recently? If you have, you may have been missing some of our communications. In the next year, having your contact information will be more important than ever. To update your information, please fill out your contact information on our survey or on our website. If you prefer, you could also call our office in New Canaan, 203-966-7959 or New Brunswick, 732-543-2299.

Rockland County 9/11 Memorial
Rockland MemorialThe County of Rockland is reaching out to family members to invite them to see if they would like to change their loved one's photo currently displayed on the Memorial Panels in the Kiosk located by the September 11th Memorial. Black and white photos are preferred; however color photos may be used. They are asking that photos be sent to them by February 25th. Those families who have submitted photos for their Living Memorial can select one of those photos for the kiosk. If you have questions, you can call Michelle at VOICES at 203-966-3911 or the County of Rockland Environmental Resources office at 845-364-2670.


Arizona shooting update: Names of victims shot, injured, wounded released, videos
It’s been nearly one month since the tragedy in Tucson, Arizona and more details are being learned. There were 19 people shot and of those 19, six people died. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department released the names and ages of the injured and wounded victims. Here is the list of names and ages of the victims released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office. More.

Verona flagmaking company repairs National 9/11 Flag
In the empty, battleship-gray basement of the Annin Flagmakers factory in Verona, a tattered American flag is stretched out over a dozen banquet tables - the remains of a giant, stubborn banner that held its ground on Sept. 11, 2001. More.

U.S. terrorism threat at 'heightened' state
Senior Homeland Security Department officials warned Wednesday that the threat to the United States is the highest it has been since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, citing the emergence of more foreign terrorist groups, a sharp increase in extremists in this country and the "lone wolf" operator whom authorities worry they may not be able to stop. More.

Visit VOICES In The News for articles and announcements of interest to the 9/11 community.




FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:

www.voicesofsept11.org

©2009 Voices of September 11th. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

VOICES of September 11th is a nonpartisan advocacy group that provides services and advocates for all those affected by September 11th; promotes public policy reform on prevention, preparedness and response to terrorism; and builds bridges between international communities changed by terrorism. In 2006, VOICES launched the 9/11 Living Memorial digital archive that commemorates the lives and stories of September 11, 2001.