Posts Tagged ‘World Trade Center’

How to Use Social Media to Remember 9/11

Monday, August 30th, 2010

by ,  HandsOn Network

Are you willing to be an online ambassador for volunteerism?

Will you leverage your social networks to encourage your readers, followers and friends to memorialize the victims, survivors and heroes of the attacks of 9/11 through A National Day of Service and Remembrance?

Here are a few ways we can do it:

Using Facebook:

You can spread the word by asking your Facebook friends to get involved and to add their names to the growing list of individuals and organizations pledging to volunteer in observance of 9/11.  Share the link to the official 9/11 National Day of Service web site (http://911dayofservice.org/).  You can also lead by example.  Invite your Facebook friends to join you at a volunteer project.

Using Twitter

The hashtag for 9/11 as A National Day of Service is #911DAY.   Spread the word about the day of service by tweeting about it and sharing the link to the official 9/11 as A National Day of Service site (http://911dayofservice.org/).  You can ask your followers to volunteer – on their own or with you!  Share the details of your volunteer project with your followers. (If you mention , I’ll see your tweet, and retweet it or )

Using A Blog

If you’re a blogger, consider writing a post about 9/11 as a Day of Service. What you remember most about 9/11/01?  What images stand out for you? Why do you believe in honoring the victims, survivors and heroes through service? How will you take part in the Day of Service and Remembrance? (Here’s a sample 9/11 blog post: https://handsonblog.org/?p=2731)

You might want to include a call to action for your readers, such as:

–> Ask them to pledge to serve via a link to the official 9/11 Day of Service page (http://911dayofservice.org/)

–> Or, if you think folks might want to plan their own project, you can share a link to HandsOn’s guide to organizing a service project.  (http://www.handsonnetwork.org/files/resources/HON_Vol_Leader_Guide_FINAL.pdf)

If you send me a link to your blog post, I’ll link to it from https://HandsOnBlog.org.

Using YouTube:

Consider creating a video about why you think the 9/11 Day of Service is important. You coul answer the blogging questions above on video, upload it to You Tube, and share it with your social networks. If you send me a link to your video and I’ll link to it from https://HandsOnBlog.org

Related Content:

Feel free to use the official 9/11 Day of  Service Image:

You can add it to your blog or website with this HTML code:

http://911dayofservice.org“>

You can also embed or share either of these 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance videos:

Just Another Day

Finally, do something creative – whatever works for you!

For example, you could offer to do something wacky if  X number of your friends, fans or readers pledge to serve.

You could challenge your friends – “If 20 people sign up, I’ll… (insert your wacky thing)!” — Shave your head? –Perform “All the Single Ladies” on You Tube?  Only you can say…

If you’re planning your own project – try using eventbrite, meetup or VolunteerSpot to get the event organized.  If you need to raise money for your project, give Crowdrise a try.

Do you know anyone else who might like to use social media to spread the word and get others involved? Why not share this post with them?

Thanks for your using social media for social good, for helping to promote volunteerism online and for making the September 11th National Day of Service & Remembrance a success!

Want to receive e-mail updates on how to use social media to encourage an online volunteer movement?  Let me know and I’ll add you to my list.  Contact me at .

Related Posts:

Repair The World by Leah Koenig

A Day of Service and Remembrance

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

by Jessica Kirkwood, VP for Social Media, HandsOn Network

When the first plane hit the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, I thought it must have been a small, private plane.

I was in a meeting at the HandsOn Network office when I heard the news, but the meeting resumed until the second plane hit the other tower.

One by one, the HandsOn Network and local Hands On Atlanta staff gathered in the conference room to watch the now historic 9/11 coverage unfold before our eyes.

We watched the towers fall in disbelief.

Thinking back to that time, what I remember most are the individual stories  about fathers, husbands and sons,  wives, mothers and daughters.

I remember the tone of voice mail messages left on unanswered cell phones, last declarations of love.

I remember hand made signs seeking those who were missing. “Have you seen…?”

I remember stories about the bravery of individual fire fighters, police officers and volunteers.

I remember thinking about the meaning of the word hero.

I remember the images of bodies falling and of faces covered in fine, white ash.

I remember the candlelight vigils, extreme and overwhelming sorrow and, at the same time, a powerful sense of community fellowship.

So many people the world over grieved together and I remember how that felt. I can feel that memory right at the center of my chest.

This year marks the 9th anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001.

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I can’t think of a better way to honor those that lost their lives and the families who went on without them than by doing something good for your community.

There is a way that serving others connects us, binds us together.

There’s a power in it, a connective force.

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

What do you remember?

Will you add your name to the to the growing list of individuals and organizations that are pledging to support causes, volunteer, or perform good deeds in observance of 9/11 this year?

Will you be the leader you’ve been waiting for…

Encourage your social networks to spend 9/11 volunteering by sharing this on Facebook or Twitter.  If you share it on your blog, send us a link at and we’ll link to your post!