Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit Visits the School of the Inaugural 9/11 Essay Contest Winner
Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit Visits the School of the Inaugural 9/11 Essay Contest Winner
On Tuesday, May 28, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit stopped at the Alpha Public School in Warren County, NJ.
This visit was made possible by 8th-grader Amber Olexa who won New Jersey’s inaugural 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit Essay Contest, hosted by the Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Institute™ and the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education.
9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit Essay Contest Winner Amber Olexa
Her essay captured her mother’s 9/11 experience and how the country came together in the wake of the attack.
Her essay read in part, “My mother, Jill Olexa, experienced the 9/11 attacks first hand…She will never forget the things she saw; the lives that were lost, the nauseating screams that escaped from the mouths of innocent people, and the American dreams that were crushed. But more importantly, my mother will never forget the pride that she felt in her fellow Americans. She is forever moved by the noble and brave acts that were carried out by normal civilians…Jill Olexa witnessed America unite as a family, and care for each other like one too.”
About a hundred students at the Alpha Public School visited the 9/11 Never Forget Mobile Exhibit while it was on campus. Later, the Mobile Exhibit opened to the public and numerous community members were able to experience it as well.
Retired FDNY Firefighter John Bruckner guides students from New Jersey Alpha School through the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit
The Exhibit is a one-of-a-kind traveling museum bringing the history of that tragic day to cities across the country. It’s a high-tech, tractor-trailer that transforms into an interactive exhibit, with 9/11 artifacts and guided tours carried out by retired members of the FDNY who experienced 9/11 firsthand.
The Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Institute™ is the Foundation’s September 11, 2001 education program. It is the go-to resource for educators of all types to get the non-fiction, first-person resources they need to teach children across the country about the extraordinary heroism and goodness of everyday people who inspired our nation and demonstrated the strength and resilience of America’s spirit.
It launched in September of 2022 to help educators inform kids in Kindergarten through Grade 12 about 9/11. In the less than two years it has been available the Institute’s 9/11 Curriculum is in use in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
“The preservation of memory and learning from history are principles that the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education was founded on,” said Doug Cervi, Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education. “We were honored to partner with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation for the inaugural 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit Essay Contest and to assist in bringing the Mobile Exhibit to Alpha Public School.”
“The promise to NEVER FORGET is at the core of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The visit to the Alpha Public School gave students who were born after the tragic events of 9/11 a chance to experience the remarkable tales of heroism firsthand from those who responded to the tragedy at Ground Zero,” said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
To read more of the winning essay and learn about the Tunnel to Towers 9/11 Institute™ visit T2T.org.
Media Contacts:
Trevor Tamsen – Tunnel to Towers Foundation – Trevor.Tamsen@T2T.org
Brianna Doherty- New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education – Holocaust@doe.nj.gov
About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation:
Born from the tragedy of 9/11, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation carries out its mission to “do good,” by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. Tunnel to Towers is also committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and helping America Never Forget September 11, 2001.
Visit T2T.org to learn more and follow Tunnel to Towers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education:
The core mission of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education is to promote Holocaust education in the State of New Jersey. On a continual basis, the Commission shall survey the status of Holocaust/Genocide Education; design, encourage and promote the implementation of Holocaust and genocide education and awareness; provide programs in New Jersey; and coordinate designated events that will provide appropriate memorialization of the Holocaust on a regular basis throughout the state. The Commission will provide assistance and advice to the public and private schools and will meet with county and local school officials, and other interested public and private organizations, to assist with the study of the Holocaust and genocide.
For more information please see their website.
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