On March 1, the Carolina Hurricanes will be welcoming family members of individuals that lost their lives on Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001.

Jon Chase

The group is attending the game to help raise awareness for the Flight 93 memorial that is yet to be completed. On Sept. 11, 2001, less than an hour into  United Airlines Flight 93's voyage, the plane abruptly changed course, heading southeast in the direction of Washington, D.C. Because of the heoric actions of the passengers and crew, it ultimately crashed into a remote field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, being the only one of the hijacked planes that failed to reach its intended target on that day.  

A couple months ago the Hurricanes were approached by Social-Organization and Service Club from Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle School. On a trip to the Penn State Dance Marathon to get ideas for their own event (the group hosts a Dance Marathon each year), SOS stopped in Shanksville, PA and saw the site of the Flight 93 crash on 9/11. The students watched a powerful movie on the way there and received a great lesson from the National Parks volunteer. When students found out $10 million still was needed to complete a memorial for the heroes who died, some members asked Michael Meyer, the SOS advisor, what the club could do to help.

One of the students who has been particularly impacted by the bravery of the passengers is Madison Harris, a 7th grader.

"September 11th was such a sad day,” Harris said. “The Flight 93 Memorial means so much to me because these people mattered. This memorial is dedicated to the people who saved so many lives and their families who had to lose so much."

Rather than doing a small fundraiser at school when there is still $10 million to raise, SOS thought the idea of partnering with the Carolina Hurricanes would have the potential to raise substantially more funds and awareness for the memorial throughout the Triangle.

Flight 93 National Memorial is the only Sept. 11 memorial that remains to be fully funded and constructed. People can make donations by visiting www.honorflight93.org or by texting “Memorial” to 90999 on their mobile device to donate $10 immediately.

During the game vs. the New York Rangers on March 1, the family members will be recognized and honored during the game. Flight 93 will also have a table located at the RBC Center outside of section 129.

The group will be welcomed at the RBC Center by the Mayor of Raleigh, who will be making a proclamation to officially make it Flight 93 Day in the state’s capitol.

Subscribe | Comment | Contact Previous | Next