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New Survey Finds Most Americans Agree National Sense of Unity Following 9/11 Has Largely Dissipated

Majority Still Struggle Emotionally With Memories of 9/11 As Fifth Anniversary of Terrorist Attacks Approaches

Release Date: August 18, 2006

NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 2006 - A new national survey of Americans released today by the organizers of the nonprofit myGoodDeed.org initiative, reveals that even though 63 percent of Americans now have a greater personal sense of national unity and patriotism as a result of 9/11, with 44 percent more likely to volunteer to help others, more than two-thirds (68 percent) feel that the climate of national unity and compassion that existed after 9/11 has largely dissipated.

Results of the study, conducted on behalf of myGoodDeed.org by Los Angeles-based Horizon Research Corporation, will be released later today at a NYC press conference kicking off the campaign by myGoodDeed.org to encourage Americans to observe the fifth anniversary of 9/11 by performing personal good deeds.

9/11 Still a "Difficult Time"

The study found that a significant number of Americans, 51 percent, continue to find the anniversary of 9/11 to be "a difficult time" for them emotionally, even five years after the terrorist attacks. Furthermore, a majority of those surveyed, 54 percent, say they remain uncertain about how best to observe 9/11 and remember those lost. However, only 28 percent polled thought the country should "move on." Seventy-one percent said they favored designating 9/11 on a permanent basis as "a special day of some nature," with 68 percent supporting designating 9/11 as a national day of voluntary service.

Forty-four percent said that, following 9/11, their personal interest in volunteering or giving resources to help others had increased, while 52 percent said that they "continue to see examples of the sense of unity and compassion that surfaced in America even five years after 9/11."

"Most people believe that the spirit of unity that brought us together after 9/11 has largely disappeared, but in reality it is still very much within us in our hearts in terms of the actions and feelings that people express today," said David Paine, president and co-founder of the myGoodDeed.org initiative. "Although it may not be as overt as it was after 9/11, people are definitely different as is the nation as a result of 9/11, and one consequence is that we all seem to be more cognizant of how important it really is for each of us to show compassion and make sacrifices to help others in need. The response to Katrina and other disasters in recent years has really proven that."

Although the survey found that 20 percent plan to do something "special" to observe the upcoming anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Paine said this statistic had more to do with peoples' uncertainty about how to remember 9/11 than lack of interest.

"People want to observe 9/11 in a special way, but they're not sure what to do and they're looking for guidance and help. An initiative like myGoodDeed.org, which encourages people to engage in their own personal good deeds, fits very well with what people are saying interests them today, the desire for something formal but also the choice to decide what to do," Paine said.

Another issue may be employers' own uncertainty about what to do. Only six percent of people surveyed said their employers had anything planned for the fifth anniversary of 9/11. One third, however, said they thought their employers should do something "special," 44 percent said they should not, while 24 percent weren't sure.

"Clearly employers play a huge role in helping to promote community service interest, and until now many have been somewhat slow to understand the importance, value and appropriateness of providing employees with opportunities, whatever they may be, to remember and observe 9/11," Paine said. "This all comes down to helping them as well as individuals fill this void, which myGoodDeed.org can do. Otherwise, if we choose to do nothing, then nothing will happen. In the end this is simply a question of whether or not we think 9/11 is important enough in our history for us to remember it in a special way."

Among individuals who say they are planning an observance of some nature this year, the activities most commonly mentioned were "observing it in a personal way, prayer or a moment of silence," attending a "remembrance-related activity or memorial service," attending a "religious commemoration," "raising the American flag" or other patriotic activity, or participating in a "community service or charity" activity.

The survey found that 18 percent of Americans either knew someone who was lost, or knows a family member or friend who lost someone in the terrorist attacks.

How The Survey Was Conducted

The survey was conducted among 588 adult Americans from across the country. These individuals were surveyed online by Horizon Research Corporation from Aug. 3 to Aug. 6, 2006. Respondents were recruited from the Survey Spot online panel maintained by Survey Sampling. Respondents' ages ranged from approximately 21 to 70, with a median age of 48. More women than men responded to the survey, although data was weighted to reflect a 50:50 ratio of women to men. The margin for error for the results of this survey is +/- 4.04 percent.

myGoodDeed.org (www.myGoodDeed.org) is a nonprofit initiative of One Day's Pay, a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to establishing 9/11 as a national day of charitable service and good deeds. The group was formed shortly after the terrorist attacks by two friends, David Paine and Jay Winuk, who lost his brother Glenn J. Winuk in the collapse of the World Trade Center South Tower. The mission of myGoodDeed.org is supported by more than 20 leading 9/11 family member and support organizations, and by the United States Congress, which in 2004 unanimously passed H. Con. Res. 473 expressing the sense of Congress that 9/11 ought to be a nationally recognized day of voluntary service and good deeds. The group has formally requested that President George Bush designate 9/11 this year as a national day of charitable service and good deeds.