Tucson "Building Freedom Day"

The American flag is raised at dawn to start off the Sept. 11 memorial event.

Some of the many workers who volunteered meet before work begins.

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 "women's built" home.

At the end of a hard day of work, progress is made and homes begin to take real shape..

Tucson's Habitat for Humanity Chapter held a "Building Freedom Day" to commemorate the tragedy of September 11th. At 5:30am PST, a sunrise service was held, at exactly 5:45, the time that the first tower was struck in New York, the flag was raised as "America the Beautiful" was sung. At 6:20am construction began on 11 new homes!

Support from the community was tremendous. Local media offered free advertising, with the newspapers running full page ads weeks before the event. On the morning of September 11, another full-page ad listed those individuals who donated $25.00 or more to the project. According to Habitat, they could not accommodate the outpouring of volunteers who wanted to help construct the houses. By the end of the day, 11 houses were 30% completed with exterior walls and roofs completed. Each house is being built by a different group 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. The 11 houses will create 11 new affordable homes, all grouped around a cul-de-sac overlooking the Tucson Mountains.