Fetchyournews.com traveled to Joplin, MO and we are extremely excited to participate in some very special activities planned from September 8th through September 11th. Activities taking place will serve to inspire and encourage the Joplin community. At the same time the plans will honor and be in remembrance on the 10 year anniversary of 9/11.

Special programs taking place will be the New York Says Thank You foundation 9/11 Flag Stitching Ceremony and Stars of Hope program. FYN originally became involved when New York Says Thank You chose Ellijay, GA as the 2011 pay it forward project. NYSTY has joined forces with AOL and are encouraging everyone to find a way to say “I’m an Actionist!”

A recent release by The New York Says Thank You Foundation states that 9/11 did not only happen in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in a field at Shanksville, PA. 9/11 happened in America and it is for that reason the New York Says Thank You has decided to end the historic 50 State restoration tour of the National 9/11 Flag on September the 11th in Joplin, Missouri. Joplin was the site of one of the deadliest tornadoes in history that took the lives of 160 people and destroyed 40% of the town this past May 22nd.

“By going to Joplin with The National 9/11 Flag on the 10 Anniversary of 9/11, we will be making a powerful statement that New Yorkers will never forget what people from small towns and big cities all across America did for us in our time of need,” stated Jeff Parness, founder of New York Says Thank You Foundation. “By letting the folks in Joplin place the final stitches in The National 9/11 Flag and by letting
them heal this national treasure, it will make an historic statement that ‘we are all in this together’ and that the resilience and the compassion of the American people is so much greater than any act of terror or catastrophic act of nature.”

Day one brings in volunteers from Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Georgia, New York and a few other States. They gather together in an effort to bring some brightness and hope to Joplin, MO by way of placing brightly painted stars in the midst of the devastation from the tornado that hit earlier in the year. The stars carry inspirational words of love and prayers to encourage a community in the midst of rebuilding.

Pat Samuels, from Texas, handles the Stars of Hope operation and held a coordination meeting early Thursday morning to explain how the program works. Early afternoon volunteers headed out to tour the area where the stakes and stars would be placed. There were sights of severe damage and some areas were starting to see signs of clean up and rebuilding. Looking at the results of the storm it is hard to imagine the effect on the community of Joplin.

Maps were distributed; teams formed, and then off to drive the stakes into the ground. Quite a task as we heard the echoes of “remember the ground is rocky!” Joplin was an area mined for copper and coal and many of the areas proved unrelenting to the attempts of driving in the stakes. But where there is a will there’s a way and hard work (and drill bits) left brightly painted stakes at intersections throughout the area waiting for the stars to be attached.

Teams work late into Thursday evening and will start again Friday at 7am with an operations briefing with team leaders at the Holiday Inn. Plans will be discussed for completing Stars of Hope Projects at both St. Mary’s and MSSU campuses. Stars of Hope will have a project site open to adult/children painters to begin painting stars at MSSU Campus at 9 am Friday.

Over 3,500 stars placed at intersections in the midst of the city will daily remind the Joplin community that there is hope. Joplin will always remember the 9/11 Flag being retired in their community on the 10 year anniversary of Sept 11, 2001. Most of all Joplin will always remember the love and kindness extended to their community as so many from across America share and inspires them to remember it’s about 9/12!