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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 20, 2001

Statement

Message from NEA President Bob Chase Regarding the NEAFT September 11 Fund

Please read the message below from NEA President Bob Chase and circulate it widely among your colleagues.

The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have established an NEAFT September 11 Fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide long-range assistance to the children and affected families of the victims who were killed on that most terrible of days.

As brave rescue and recovery workers continue to clear the rubble, still hoping to find survivors, we all feel an aching need to do something, to help out in some way. The NEAFT September 11 Fund will help children and affected families of the victims in a number of different ways, including helping them pay for their college education.

I will ask the NEA Board of Directors to authorize a donation of $200,000 to the NEAFT September 11 Fund. This money will come out of the NEA Contingency Fund. In addition, our State and Local Associations, as well as individual NEA members, are asked to contribute to the NEAFT September 11 Fund. Checks can be sent to NEA (attention Dennis Van Roekel) and made out to the NEAFT September 11 Fund. The address is 1201 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036.

The AFT has already committed a like amount to the victims of this tragedy. The NEAFT September 11 Fund will be administered by a joint NEA-AFT Committee.

We know that three Washington, D.C. teachers and three students died in the plane that was crashed into the Pentagon. We also know that New York City's public school teachers and support staff have made us all proud throughout this crisis. Indeed we know that all across America teachers and education support professionals are doing everything that they can to shepherd our children and young people through this tragedy. The NEAFT September 11 Fund provides us with an opportunity to do something special for the children and the affected families of the victims.

Bob Chase,
President, NEA

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.