Taking an approach that was very rich with meaning, the Tucson Chapter of Habitat for Humanity honored and paid respect to the victims of last September's tragedy by holding "Building Freedom Day" on September 11th, 2002.

Tucson is on Pacific Time, and Habitat's ceremony and events were scheduled to parallel Eastern time: at 5:30 a.m., on a site overlooking the Tucson Mountains, a sunrise service was held; at exactly 5:45 a.m., marking the time the first tower was struck in New York, the American flag was raised (left) while the crowd sang "America the Beautiful." And at 6:20 a.m., construction began on 11 new, affordable homes for low-and moderate-income families. Each home was built by a different group of volunteers from the community including; professional women, fire fighters & police, armed services, members of the media, real estate agents, church groups, non profit groups, and the Pasque Yaqui Tribe. (Habitat reported that they could not accommodate the outpouring of volunteers who wanted to help construct the houses).

Left: Carole Baumgarten, Executive Director, Tucson Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, and Lily Lee, Acting Regional Director, San Francisco, approve of the days work completed on the "womens built" home. Right: Results of this special tribute at the end of a hard day's work.

From the time Habitat's plan was made public, support throughout the community was tremendous. Local media offered free advertising, and local newspapers ran full page ads for weeks before the event. On the morning of September 11th, everyone who donated $25 or more to the project were recognized with full-page ad listing their names.

By the end of September 11, 2002, the 11 homes were 30% complete, with exterior walls and roofs finished. Today, these houses are a strong but silent tribute to heroes, men and women touched by fate, and above all, to volunteers who helped comfort and serve the victims and heroes alike - as Tucson's Habitat for Humanity volunteers took action in their honor.