MIAMISBURG — Students, first responders and community members gathered at Miamisburg High School for a memorial climb honoring the lives lost in the Sept. 11 attacks.
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Organizers planned this year’s event in 28 days after the high school principal moved the climb from regular school hours to after-school hours.
Two Miamisburg teachers originally established the event to help students understand what first responders experienced on the ground following the 2001 attacks.
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Hundreds of participants registered for the climb as community involvement has expanded each year.
Participants each received a tag containing the photo and background information of a Sept. 11 first responder who died.
Climbers carried the tag throughout the 20-minute climb before reaching the finish.
Upon completing the climb, participants rang a bell and spoke aloud the name of the first responder featured on their tag.
Katie Lay, a social studies teacher and event organizer at Miamisburg High School, explained that the educational initiative begins in the classroom.
“We realized that we had many students in our classrooms that although they knew what 9/11 was they didn’t have a true understanding of the impact, and it’s very hard to connect with something that you didn’t live through,” Lay said.