The City of Richmond, Indiana University East and Fountain City Wesleyan Church are sponsoring a day of observance and community service for the 10th anniversary of September 11.

The public is invited to join together as a community for the 10-year Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony at 1 p.m. on Sunday, September 11, at Veterans Park in Richmond, Ind.  The community, veterans, service men and women, emergency and medical personnel, and their families are invited to this special event.

Mayor Sally Hutton will give the keynote address during the ceremony.

Patty Crawford, IU East career and experiential learning coordinator, said the Student Veterans Organization and students will present the Sept. 11 Reflection Wall and their service intentions at the remembrance ceremony.

“The Experiential Learning Center will also be encouraging community members to partner with IU East to participate in service activities this year in remembrance of the Sept. 11 tragedy and also in thanksgiving to safety and fire personnel in our local and national community,” Crawford said. “IU East students, faculty, and staff will join community members in submitting their service accomplishments and intentions at the ceremony.”

The focus of service was initiated by the IU East Experiential Learning Center in collaboration with the “Better Together” program created by the Interfaith Youth Corps and is part of IU East’s Interfaith and Service Campus Challenge programming for 2011-2012 academic year, Crawford said.

“We were looking for a way to reach out to public safety personnel to say thanks for putting their lives on the line every day for us. The tenth anniversary of 9/11 provided a great opportunity to do that,” said Mark Gardner, a member of Fountain City Wesleyan Church and member of the event’s organization committee.

In addition to the remembrance service, IU East will sponsor several events through September 6-12 in commemoration of Sept. 11.

The IU East service project on Thursday, September 8, is to serve the community in remembrance of the event and to turn tragedy into service. The community is welcome to join IU East in this project to help prepare the 10th Street Park for the Family Fun Fest to be held on Saturday, September 17.

September 11 10th Anniversary Commemoration Events at IU East
Tuesday, September 6
•    3,000 miniature American flags in the IU East quad will be on display.
•    A Reflection Wall will be in the Whitewater Hall Lobby for the community to share your memories. The Reflection Wall will be on display throughout the week.

Wednesday, September 7
•    United 93 movie in Vivian Auditorium at noon.

Thursday, September 8
•    World Trade Center movie in Vivian Auditorium at 11 a.m.
•    Tree planting and moment of silence at 1 p.m. (outside of Springwood Hall by the Sept. 11 tree)
•    10th Street Park Beautification at 2-5 p.m. Transportation will be provided by IU East for students, faculty and staff.

Sunday, September 11
•    Sept. 11 10-year Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony at Veteran’s Park at 1 p.m.

Monday, September 12
•    IU East Honors Program Chew & Chat: Students in the Honors Program will host  “Momentous Anniversaries of 2011: the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War, the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.” The discussion will be held from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Springwood Hall, room 202. Through documentary clips and discussion, the discussion will explore not only how these two were major tragedies of our past, but how each represented challenges to our American identity.  All IU East students, staff, faculty, and the community are welcome to attend.

For more information, contact Patty Crawford, career and experiential learning coordinator, at (765) 973-8625 or go online to iue.edu/interfaith.