FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, September 8, 2005
National Poll Shows Americans REMAIN Deeply Impacted by 9/11 and Believe the WorldTradeCenter Memorial WILL HELP Heal THE Nation
Nearly Two-Thirds Believe It is Important for All Americans to Visit Memorial
8 out of 10 Believe that the Memorial Will Help Heal Nation’s Pain from the Attacks
The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation today released results of the first comprehensive national poll to gauge the lasting impact of September 11th and the importance of the Memorial, which reported that Americans believe the World Trade Center Memorial is important to helping our nation overcome the lasting and profound impact of 9/11 four years after the attacks.
The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation worked with Zogby International to conduct a poll to understand the effects of September 11th on the American people as well as to learn more about what the World Trade Center Memorial and MemorialMuseum mean to people across the country. The poll revealed the broad support for the Memorial and MemorialMuseum. 8 out of 10 people (81%) said they believed the World Trade Center Memorial and Memorial Museum will not only help us forever honor the memory of the people killed on September 11th, but will also help heal the nation’s pain that endures from the attacks.
According to the Zogby poll, which was conducted prior to Hurricane Katrina, nearly 9 out of 10 people (87%) believe that the terrorist attack on September 11th was the most significant historical event in their lifetime and has changed the way we live together in America. There is an overwhelming interest in visiting New York City when the Memorial and MemorialMuseum are open as expressed by over 60% of respondents who said they were likely to visit within the first five years that they are open.
-more-
“It’s clear that even four years later, the attacks continue to have a profound emotional affect on people across the country and that the World Trade Center Memorial will be an important part of healing our nation,” World Trade Center Memorial President and CEO Gretchen Dykstra said. “We conducted this survey in order to better understand how September 11th continues to impact Americans and how they view the Memorial and MemorialMuseum to be built at the WorldTradeCenter site. We believe this poll shows that the American people care deeply about honoring 9/11 and will help us to build the Memorial.”
Nearly all those polled (94%) said that it is important to build a memorial at the World Trade Center site and nearly two-thirds (65%) think it is important that every American make plans to visit the Memorial and Memorial Museum once it is built and open to the public and 62% believe that every student should visit the site before they graduate from high school. Approximately 63% of Americans said they were likely to visit the Memorial and MemorialMuseum within the first five years that they are open.
“The overwhelming consensus within this poll confirms strong support from across the country for building the Memorial. Just as Americans came together in the wake of 9/11 to help New York City recover, we believe they will unite once again to help build the Memorial and MemorialMuseum,” Dykstra said. “The Memorial will be a powerful draw for people from across the country because so many people care about remembering those we lost as well as celebrating the courage and the strength of our nation after the attacks. We know that there are a vast number of Americans who will plan to visit New York once the Memorial opens.”
The poll shows that 7 out of 10 (69%) said that they still thought about the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 at least once a week. Three-quarters (76%) of Americans are still emotionally affected by September 11th.
An overwhelming majority of Americans clearly agree that September 11th is such an important date in the history of the country that the day should be observed together as a nation. 84% of Americans agreed that the entire nation should take time every September 11th, such as a moment of silence or a visit to a memorial, to honor those killed during the terrorist attacks. There is a clear feeling that the American public wishes to observe the day with remembrance.
“People see September 11th as a tremendously important event in our nation’s history and wish to honor that day together as a nation and by building a memorial at Ground Zero,” Dykstra said.
For complete survey information, including poll questions and results, please visit the Memorial Foundation’s new website, Visitors can also participate in the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation’s survey on 9/11 and the Memorial.
-more-
The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation today launched its new website, which uses market-leading internet tools to build a community of people who care about building the Memorial and have been impacted by 9/11. Visitors will be able to see newly released images of the Memorial site, share stories and photographs relating to 9/11, and make donations in support of the Memorial.
Zogby International conducted interviews of 1,201 Americans chosen randomly nationwide. All calls were made from Zogby International headquarters in Utica, N.Y., August 17-August 20, 2005. The margin of error is +/- 2.9 percentage points. The poll was made possible through a contribution from Time Warner, Inc.
The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation established to build and operate the Memorial and MemorialMuseum to be built at the WorldTradeCenter site. The Memorial, “Reflecting Absence,” will remember and honor the thousands of people who died in the horrific attacks of February 26, 1993 and September 11, 2001 and recognize the endurance of those who survived, the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the compassion of all who supported us in our darkest hours.
###
Contact: 212-312-8800