The National Park Foundation Board of Directors Announces $2 Million Challenge Grant To Support the Flight 93 National Memorial

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Aug 03, 2011, 12:16 ET

Honor the Heroes of United Flight 93 and September 11 Today at WWW.HONORFLIGHT93.ORG and Double Your Donation

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With fewer than 40 days until the 10-year commemoration of the September 11 attacks, the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign announced that the National Park Foundation Board of Directors has committed to a two million dollar challenge grant to support the building of the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania honoring all those lost on September 11 including the 40 heroes of United Flight 93.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090630/DC40408LOGO)

The public is invited to participate at www.honorflight93.org and double their gift to the memorial. The National Park Foundation will match every donation, dollar for dollar, up to two million dollars. When completed, the Flight 93 National Memorial will be the only unit of the National Park system dedicated to the events of September 11. Approximately $10 million in private funding is needed to finish the project.

"The September 11th story is incomplete until all three memorials have been funded and constructed," said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation, the charitable partner of the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign. "We need to ensure that those lost, including the 40 heroes of Flight 93, are never forgotten. From individuals to organizations, there is no better time to show your support and be able to double your impact."

Nearly 10 years after the events of September 11, memorials in New York and at the Pentagon are completed. However, the Flight 93 National Memorial has yet to receive the funds necessary to be complete. To support the building of the Flight 93 National Memorial, visit http://www.honorflight93.org or call the National Park Foundation at (202) 354-6488.

The Flight 93 National Memorial will be the nation's permanent memorial to the 40 passengers and crew of United Flight 93, and all of those lost on September 11, 2001. United Flight 93, originally destined for San Francisco, was hijacked by terrorists in the skies over Ohio. Once they received word of the attacks in New York and Washington, the passengers and crew took decisive action, choosing to fight their terrorist hijackers. Together they fought, and through their heroic actions, sacrificed their own lives, ultimately causing United Flight 93 to crash in a field outside of Shanksville, Pa., where no individuals on the ground were harmed. The most popular conclusion, including that of the 9/11 Commission, is that United Flight 93 was headed for the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. The actions of the 40 heroes on United Flight 93 saved countless lives and our nation's capital.

The memorial site is currently under construction with plans to dedicate the Flight 93 National Memorial on September 10, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to attend the dedication and President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are expected to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial on September 11, 2011.

The Flight 93 National Memorial is an ambitious $62 million initiative. To date, approximately $52 million has been committed through public and private sources. The National Park Foundation continues to spearhead the campaign, working to raise $10 million in private funding for the Flight 93 National Memorial.

To view the memorial site live, visit www.honorflight93.org/webcam.

For more information on the story of United Flight 93 and the national memorial, please go to www.honorflight93.org.

ABOUT THE FLIGHT 93 NATIONAL MEMORIAL
On September 24, 2002, Congress passed the Flight 93 National Memorial Act. The Act created a new national park unit to commemorate the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, courageously gave their lives thereby thwarting a planned attack on our nation's capital. The memorial is outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed with the loss of its 40 passengers and crew. For more information about the Flight 93 National Memorial, please visit www.nps.gov/flni. For information on how to support the building of the memorial, go to www.honorflight93.org.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
The National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks. Founded by Congress, we work hand in hand with the National Park Service to strengthen and connect all Americans to our parks, so they are protected for present and future generations. It is a legacy that began more than a century ago, when private citizens took action to first establish, then protect and endow our national parks. Today, the National Park Foundation carries on that tradition as the only national charitable partner for America's national parks. To learn more visit www.nationalparks.org.

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Media Contact: Alanna Sobel, 202.354.6480, [email protected]

SOURCE National Park Foundation