9/11 Anniversary Call for 10,000 Acts of Kindness

To honor the victims and survivors of the September 11 attacks, Pay-It-Forward-9/11 is encouraging 10,000 surprise good deeds.

Leading up to the 10th anniversary of September 11, people are asked to help a stranger and share their stories through social media. EnviroMedia Social Marketing will donate $1 to the Pay It Forward Foundation for every new Twitter follower of @PIFFoundation.

EnviroMedia co-founder Kevin Tuerff started Pay-It-Forward-9/11 after experiencing life-changing kindness in Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001. Tuerff returns to Gander Sept. 9 to launch the "10,000 Acts of Kindness for 9/11" effort.

Tuerff was stranded in the small Canadian town after 38 jumbo-jets unexpectedly landed there on September 11, 2001 when U.S. airspace closed due to the terrorist attacks.

Tuerff and fellow passengers sat onboard for 10 hours without knowing the extent of the attacks. When finally let off the plane, 7,000 stranded passengers had no access to their luggage, no food and no place to stay.

"The 10,000 people of Gander mobilized to take care of us," said Tuerff. "My temporary home was a community college classroom, where I slept on the floor. Newfoundlanders fed us and drove me to buy fresh clothes. They were lifelines, helping us connect to what was happening at home."

Six days later, Tuerff made it home to Texas. To honor Gander's kindness, each year on Sept. 11 Tuerff gives pairs of employees at EnviroMedia $100 and time off to perform good deeds for strangers. Over the last nine years, Pay-It-Forward-9/11 has spread across the country.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• PIF
• Pay It Forward
• PIFF
• good
• kindness
• twitter
• 10000
• 9/11