Families of September 11 is now operating as the For Action Initiative. Please visit them at www.foractioninitiative.org.
Dear Friends and Families of September 11,
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose…”
You may recall that in March we announced that FOS11 would sunset and cease its operations completely. That time has come, and it is a time of great prospect, for as the door closes on FOS11, it opens on a new phase of the For Action Initiative.
This K-12 curriculum development project, founded by Families of September 11, along with Liberty Science Center and the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education, and which we have supported and developed since 2008, will have a life of its own. In doing so it will give extended life to the Families of September 11 focus on children.
Since our March announcement we explored how the potential of the curriculum project could be realized. An unexpected gift helped those deliberations and made it possible to develop and post a greater number of lesson plans and enable a more active promotion of the project among American educators. The For Action Initiative can build on the dedicated efforts of teacher volunteers whose lesson plans are now and soon will be available online.
With such ambitions in mind we concluded that the For Action Initiative will need to operate as a registered nonprofit that can fundraise and grow. The Board of Directors of FOS11 considered the options and voted to transition the organization to its new identity and a continuity of mission. An official filing to change the name of Families of September 11 to the For Action Initiative was made.
The name change reflects the evolution of FOS11 as well as the project’s goal to make the curriculum accessible across the nation. We embrace participation and involvement of teachers who want to contribute their own lessons to these topics and grow professionally.
The FOS11 website as you have known it will be archived and its active features will cease. I will remain on the Board of the For Action Initiative as will my colleague Nancy Aronson. Donna Gaffney and MaryEllen Salamone, who spearheaded the project and are instrumental to shaping this new phase, also will be Board members. Lastly, we are pleased to tell you that the website for the For Action Initiative is now live. We invite you to visit the site, peruse the lesson plans, and consider how you and others might support this exciting next step. Take a look at www.foractioninitiative.org and consider bookmarking it for future visits. And please share the news with others who, like you and I, understand the importance of teaching our children about September 11th and what we all can learn from it.
We believe that this change is an important and the best step to take in our fight against terrorism. Focusing on the education of our children is the greatest way to honor those we’ve lost.
Best regards,
Donald Goodrich Chairman, Families of September 11
