HONORING THE DAY WITH SERVICE

Kids born later still inspired to mark 9/11 attacks

Born two years after the World Trade Center towers crumbled, Tachia Gentry was one of 350 ninth-graders who participated in a day of service Monday at George Washington High School to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

The nonprofit 9/11 Day launched the National Day of Service and Remembrance in 2002 to inspire people to engage in charitable service each Sept. 11, as a tribute to victims, survivors and those who responded to the terrorist attacks.

Representatives of the Wounded Warrior Project, Food Bank of the Rockies, Children’s Hospital and other nonprofits were on hand Monday to provide information to the students and help them get involved in service projects.

Among other things, the kids hand-tied fleece blankets for Children’s Hospital Colorado, made supply bags for Warren Village’s after-school program and wrote letters to wounded veterans.

“This reminds us that the people who fight every day do risk their lives just to protect us,” Tachia said after writing a letter to a veteran.

Greg Monck, alumni manager for the Wounded Warrior Project, asked the students to offer ideas for fundraising efforts they could launch to help veterans living with serious wounds or battling post-traumatic stress.

“My goal is to get two or three kids to walk out of here and say, ‘You know what, I want to do something for someone else,’ and realize there is stuff bigger than themselves, but they can be part of it,” Monck said.

“I think this is really inspirational,” said Sky Anderson, 14.

Sky’s mother, a flight attendant in 2001, was scheduled to work on the first of two planes to hit the World Trade Center in New York. Instead, she was assigned to a different plane.

“I started hearing about (9/11) from a very young age,” Sky said.

Asked for a fundraising idea, Sky, a softball player, suggested a three-day softball tournament, with sponsors contributing money to Wounded Warriors every time “a girl hits a home run.”

Rather than a local event, the tournament could be played statewide, she said. “I am going to try to make it happen.”

Participants make their way around Red Rocks Amphitheatre during the Colorado 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb on Monday. Each participant pays tribute by climbing the equivalent of the 110 stories of the World Trade Center in New York.

Chris Trost, of West Metro Fire, presents the colors during the Colorado 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.