NEW YORK, Aug 27, 2009 / FW/ — 9/11 will forever be etched in the mind of most Americans. And because Sep 11, 2001 was actually the middle of New York Fashion Week, fashionistas remember it very vividly.
Every year, under the tents at Bryant Park, the fashion community traditionally commemorates the events of the day with moments of silence to mark the moments when the World Trade Center towers were struck by the two aircrafts.
And this year, under the tents at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, September 11 will be commemorated as an official National Day of Service and Remembrance. On-site exhibit information in support of the 9/11 Day of Service will be set aside in the main lobby of the tent.
MyGoodDeed, a prominent nonprofit group created by family members and friends of 9/11 victims, in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is also sponsoring an online charity auction that begins on 9/11 and will feature Spring 2010 collection items donated from many top designers including Donna Karan, Tracy Reece, Carmen Marc Valvo, Phillip Lim, James Coviello, Milly, Vivenne Tam, Tommy Hilfiger and many others at www.911dayofservice.org/runway
“We are absolutely thrilled to partner with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week designers and the entire fashion community to help spread the message of hope and service on 9/11,” said MyGoodDeed president David Paine, who founded the organization in 2002 along with close friend Jay S. Winuk, the brother of 9/11 rescuer Glenn J. Winuk, an attorney and volunteer firefighter and EMT who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center South Tower.
“We are inspired and humbled by the incredible support of so many designers who have agreed to donate one-of-a kind pieces to support the online auction,” Paine added.
In March 2009, after a seven-year campaign led by my MyGoodDeed to establish the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as national day of service, Congress passed landmark national service legislation that for the very first time authorizes the formal recognition of September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance.
On April 21, 2009, President Obama signed this legislation into law under the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.
In 2011, MyGoodDeed hopes to mark the tenth anniversary of September 11 by holding the largest single day of service and volunteerism in the nation’s history.
[MARGUERITE SEBASTIEN]
