An event on Saturday, September 12, will honor the 343 NYFD firefighters and first responders who lost their lives because of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
The Springfield Area Memorial Stair Climb will take place at Route 66 Stadium. Nearly 400 people are already signed up to walk or climb the equivalent of 110 stories – the number of floors in the World Trade Center buildings.
The Springfield event began 14 years ago, according to Julie Mercer, the marketing coordinator for the Springfield Area Memorial Stair Climb, which is a 501c3. It spun out of the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb hosted by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
Climbers include various emergency responders and community members. Mercer said each walker will receive a badge when they register.
"Each badge represents one of the fallen heroes, firefighters from 9/11, and they get their badges. They have time to look them up, kind of see what they were, what they were about their story," she said, "and they carry it on a lanyard, and they carry...that fallen hero as they climb or walk throughout that time that they're here with us or also, you know, when they leave or go home. A lot of folks will come back, and they will bring their fallen hero that they've climbed for for multiple years. And for a lot of these folks, it is all 14 years."
She said the event, which is held across the country, fulfills a promise that the first responders who died on 9/11 will not be forgotten.
Proceeds will go to three charities: The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, which helps those who were impacted by 9/11; Supporting Heroes, a Missouri nonprofit that offers support for family members of first responders killed in the line of duty; and the local nonprofit Sunshine Brotherhood, which provides financial support for first responders in times of personal crisis.
The opening ceremony will begin Saturday morning at 8:30 with the climb to follow. Doors open at 7. Registration is $40. Spectators are welcome to attend for free.
You can find out more on the Springfield Area Memorial Stair Climb Facebook page.
