\n<\/p>\n
NEW YORK — <\/span>The 9\/11 Memorial and Museum has launched a $75 million fundraising campaign as the nonprofit tries to educate the millions of U.S. youth who don’t remember the terror attacks<\/a> on their upcoming 25th anniversary.<\/p>\n Boosting The Never Forget Fund’s latest appeal, announced Wednesday, is Mike Bloomberg. The former New York City mayor, who has rallied hundreds of millions of dollars toward the 9\/11 Memorial and Museum as its chair, pledged to match the next $25 million in donations through his Bloomberg Philanthropies. Organizers already secured the first $25 million through unspecified initial gifts.<\/p>\n Officials count about 97 million memorial visitors and nearly 28 million museum attendees since they opened in 2014 at the site where hijacked jetliners destroyed the World Trade Center’s twin towers in lower Manhattan. But recent years have seen a budget crisis following pandemic closures<\/a> and interest from the Trump administration in taking control of the site<\/a>.<\/p>\n Beth Hillman, the organization’s president and CEO, says they need a permanent funding source to reach the roughly 100 million Americans born after the attacks. The goal is to frame the aftermath as one that inspired selfless acts of service and provide basic facts through new on-site exhibits and classroom materials.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ongoing importance of remembering 9\/11 is to remind people that they can come together even in the face of incredible loss,\u201d Hillman told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n The legacy of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people remains hotly contested. Younger generations have only ever known the existence of airport screenings, immigration enforcement officers and other security measures pursued afterwards by the U.S. government<\/a>. Many engage with the events through popular memes of the photograph showing then-President George W. Bush learning about the developments. Conspiracy theories abound<\/a> about what government officials knew in their leadup.<\/p>\n Also debated is the notion of unity advanced by the memorial and museum. The Sept. 11 attacks fueled 20 years of war abroad<\/a> that grew increasingly unpopular as the death toll rose. Young American Muslims growing up under their shadow have faced hostility, mistrust and suspicion<\/a>.<\/p>\n As the 25th anniversary approaches this September, Hillman sees a \u201ccompelling story of service, of hope, of resilience, of coming together\u201d for the people who didn’t live through that period. Those stories will be told in an exhibit called \u201cIn Their Honor.” Celebrity chef Bobby Flay, she noted, was among the many chefs who prepared meals for first responders in the months following the attacks. Theater workers brought their lights to power the blacked-out area around ground zero. Victims’ family members started social services organizations such as 9\/11 Day to inspire volunteering in memory of their lost relatives. They also want to inform more people of the first responders who developed chronic illnesses and still face barriers to care.<\/p>\n The funds raised by the 9\/11 Memorial and Museum will ensure free museum access continues for students, first responders and veterans, according to Hillman, who said \u201cwe don’t want the price to be a barrier to them.\u201d Standard adult admission currently costs $36. The nonprofit’s website notes that it \u201crelies primarily on ticket sales to help fund its operational costs.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization plans to reach more educators with the funds. As teachers enter the workforce without lived experiences of Sept. 11, Hillman said they want to help prepare lesson plans. The nonprofit runs summer teachers’ institutes, offers professional development programs and remakes a 30-minute film each year with firsthand stories.<\/p>\n Hillman acknowledged a greater \u201cdegree of distraction and confusion\u201d today than in the past when it comes to efforts to memorialize recent historical events. She sees a need to give \u201csimple representations of what happened.” The March\/April issue of The National Council for the Social Studies’ magazine, which was guest edited by 9\/11 Memorial and Museum staff, features a timeline of the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. <\/p>\n “9\/11 is heavy and compelling and full of inspiring stories,\u201d Hillman said. “But also, just a trusted set of what happened on that day, of materials that can convey the basics of it \u2014 that\u2019s the beginning of people learning and starting to understand, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Alex Edgar, a Gen Z civic leader who is working with a group called Made By Us to amplify youth voices ahead of the United States’ 250th birthday, sees value in emphasizing the power of service. His peers, he said, have \u201cnever really seen a country that has worked\u201d or one that \u201creally lived up to the promise of America.\u201d He finds that narratives about overcoming division to accomplish shared goals serve as an antidote to the political polarization frequently experienced by young people.<\/p>\n But he emphasized that those narratives must permeate classroom walls and museum doors.<\/p>\n \u201cThey invite young people to consider what\u2019s preventing us from using any of the issues of our time as a rallying cry for folks to come together across backgrounds to build the type of country, the communities, that we want to live in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP\u2019s philanthropy coverage, visit https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/philanthropy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n