What makes the 9/11 Tribute Museum truly unique is its volunteer guides. They are all member of the 9/11 community — family members who lost loved ones, survivors, Lower Manhattan residents and workers, rescue and recovery workers, police and firefighters — who bravely telling their personal 9/11 stories. Not only do they inspire and provide healing to visitors and guests from around the world, but also they have also formed a tight-knit family among themselves.
In this video series, meet the “Tribute Family” who, in their own words, detail the support they have found volunteering for the 9/11 Tribute Museum. Like separate threads being woven together, these everyday people from all walks of life have been bound together through a dark, historic moment. They have emerged from their personal tragedies ready to share some of the toughest moments of their lives, in order to educate the world and help themselves heal.
A place of healing, support and a testament to our strength.
– Lee Ielpi
The videos present 9/11 Tribute Museum volunteers fondly recalling how they have found people to talk to that understand their experience in a way so few others do. Here, lasting friendships have been forged. To borrow the words of the 9/11 Tribute Museum Co-founder Lee Ielpi, this is a “place of healing, support and a testament to our strength.”
Over the course of hundreds of interviews with these dedicated individuals, so much genuine passion and appreciation was expressed. Watching will give you insight into the importance of hope, healing, support and the power of sharing your story. The videos perfectly encapsulate why becoming involved with Tribute, either by visiting or volunteering, is so important.
This video series offers an opportunity for you to get to know our volunteer guides and how much Tribute means for them, often in less than a minute’s time. Each of the experiences laid out in this series of videos is a meaningful and one-of-a-kind view into their worlds. While each story is different, like ripples of water, they all join together into a wave of hope. Consider this your introduction to what one volunteer jovially calls “la familia.”
