September 11th- Keeping a Promise to Never Forget

I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. An LAFD USAR Task Force member and good friend of mine, had just returned from a tour at Ground Zero. I asked him what moved him the most while he was there for 2 weeks; arriving within days of the horrible event. He told me this, "As our Task Force was packing up and getting ready to come home to L.A., we were all shaking hands with the FDNY Firefighters we had worked alongside. One grabbed my hand...squeezed it firmly...looked me straight in the eyes...and said, PLEASE DON'T FORGET US."

This moved me to find some way to assure the FDNY that we would never forget. It came in the form of a uniform patch...one that included symbols of the day we lost 343 brave brothers...and one that sent them a clear message that we would NEVER FORGET them.

The design of the patch was created and displayed on a banner that was presented to 6 FDNY bike riders that rode across America to thank Americans for their outpouring of love and support. The "Thank You America Tour," started In the Bowery (Manhattan) and ended in Pasadena, California...less than a mile away from where I had been stationed as a Firefighter for the previous 15 years. It was an opportunity to get the acceptance and support from FDNY members prior to producing the patch.

Pasadena, California- Oct. 2001

The 9-11 Patch Project was created in December of 2001 with the goals to get as many of the 9-11 Patches on uniforms as possible while raising funds. It was to begin the healing process and make that promise to Never Forget them. Proceeds from the sale of the $3 patches would go on to benefit the UFA and other 9/11 related charities. 
 
Fire Departments around the world came forward...even all branches of the U.S. Military stepped up as if to say, we are your brothers too and we will fight in your honor. The project evolved to create decals, challenge coins and other memorial items to keep the memory alive and raise funds.

Today, the project has served over 10,000 organizations in 30 plus countries. Even firefighters from other countries chose to wear the 9-11 Patches on their uniforms. (pictured left: Greater Manchester FD in the UK)

Keeping this project on everyone's radar all year round has been a tough nut to crack. Beating the same drum loudly and nearly every day the past 13 years, has most likely been seen as bordering on obsession by many others. So what does one do? I believe this is the answer; 9-11 and the loss of life to the 1st Responder community on that day is part of our history and our future. We remember our fallen brothers and we assure them that we will Never Forget. Some will appreciate this while others will simply move on. Beyond that, we also remind those who choose this profession, of what those who came before them were willing to do and actually did for people they never even met.

Those 1st Responder agencies that wear one of the 9-11 Patches are truly wearing their hearts on their sleeves and sharing common threads. We're not completely healed from the tragedy of that day but we are slowly getting "patched up," and I think that means a lot to our FDNY brothers, some of who are beginning to wear the patches as well.

Learn more about the 9-11 Patch Project here: http://9-11patchproject.org

Be a sponsor to an FDNY Firehouse and send them the 9-11 Patches for free here: http://www.9-11patchproject.org/fdny-sponsor.html

New Never Forget 9/11 Decal

In honor of the 11th anniversary of 9/11, the new "Never Forget 9/11" car decal was recently released by the 9/11 Patch Project

The decal is a larger 5" round decal made with 3M decal material. The decal is fade resistant and will not harden or ruin a painted surface. This means the decal will work great on the outside of a vehicle or apparatus window and also on any painted surface.

The artwork for the decal comes from Las Vegas Firefighter and artist, Allan Albaitis. Allan is also the owner of FireArt and has put out some incredible graphics and paintings over the years.

 This is also the first time that the 9/11 Patch Project has utilized artwork from an artist or company outside of the project. The decals are $6 each and can be purchased by following this link: 9/11 Patch Project Store.

Here is a picture that shows the decal on a vehicle as well as the scale or size compared to our other 9/11 Decals:

In addition to privately owned vehicles, the decal makes a great 9/11 Tribute for your fire department apparatus.

This decal adds to the 9/11 Patch Project's fund raising items. More about where the proceeds go HERE.

9/11 Patch Project Seeking Partnerships

The idea of partnering came to us when The Decal World contacted us and asked if they could partner with us on a product. They had created a beautiful 9/11 Rhinestone Shirt and wanted to find a charitable 9/11 Organization to donate $10 per shirt to. So we talked and with a week, we had the shirt on our site and began co-promoting it with them.

How does it work? Actually, it is quite simple. We create a product together (using one of our 9/11 Patch designs or one of yours) and you sell it as you do other items on your site. We create a image and profile of the item on our site and it has a button that will click right through to where you offer it on your site. We agree to a portion of each sale that goes back to the 9/11 Patch Project Fund and we are off and running.

You can see how this looks with the 9/11 Rhinestone Shirt on our site now:  9/11 Patch Project Store Once we put this up on our site (took about 10 minutes), we advertised the fund raising deal on Facebook and sold 7 shirts the 1st day! This helps you with sales, gives you the opportunity to add a "give back" item in your store, and helps us raise funds for our project and our fund raising partners; NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund, Terry Farrell Fund & Feal Good Foundation.

We also partnered nearly a year ago, with Capital One, to create the only approved non profit 9/11 Cards. We currently have over 30 card holders. This program kicks back $50 per new cardholder and 1-2% of their purchases on a quarterly basis.

So let us know if you have an idea on an item we can partner with you on. The process does not take long and we could use the help with our fund raising activities. If you are interested in this concept, please EMAIL me with your ideas and we'll see it we can make it work!

Damaging Comments

Every so often, after posting links on FB to purchase the 9/11 Patches and other fund raising items, someone will make a damaging post suggesting this project exploits the heroes of 9/11. These folks don't bother to visit the website to do their homework first--they just decide on the spot that someone is making money off the blood of our 9/11 heroes. They couldn't be father from the truth!

This project, run by a Firefighter for over 10 years, is actually endorsed by the FDNY Uniformed Fire Officers Assoc. and has raised money for three 9/11 Charities over the years, selling these items. Just ask any of the FDNY Firefighters from the Fire & Ice Hockey Team how they feel about wearing the 9/11 Patch.

A simple visit to the website and some quick navigation, people would see that on the DONATIONS page, the charities that we donate to our listed--there are copies of some of the checks we have sent over the years--and there are even thank you letters that came to us from the organizations we donated to. We are even a registered non-profit and reference that several times on different web pages.


If folks really understood all that has gone into keeping this project alive and running these past 10 years they would realize that the founder has actually lost his own money by putting in $75,000 over the ears, when it was necessary to keep it going.

And for four months in 2002 when the project started, the founder filled orders for 4 months straight--selling one $3 patch (at the time) to raise over $15,000. That money raised was donated to the FDNY Uniformed Firefighters Association exactly 1 year form the tragic events of 9/11. How long does it take to raise $15,000 selling $3 patches--patches that cost nearly $2 to make?

True, there are unscrupulous people out there profiting off the events of 9/11--no doubt. But this is definitely not one of them. The project founder has gone to great lengths to provide full transparency about this fund raising and remembrance project--but if you can't take a moment to make a visit to the website and see this, you should absolutely be ashamed of yourself for making any unfounded and damaging comments about this project. Thank God there are folks that know we have been teamed up with NeverForget911 for 3 years and will step in when these comments are made and defend our organization.


Selling the patches, decals and other merchandise to raise funds has always been a difficult challenge. We have to pay vendors for these items and are always chasing inventory to keep items in stock. Hours are spent filling orders--many for a single patch or decal--and when we are down to 1 or 2  of a specific item , we have to order hundreds to keep the costs down.

That is why we recently teamed up with Firehouse Expo to bring the Fully Involved Comedy Tour to 3 nationwide Fire & EMS Expos. These large fund raising events will allow us to bring in more funds to these organizations. Last year with our 10yr 9/11 Anniversary Manhattan to Manhattan Tour, we brought in $6300 each, for the NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund, the Terry Farrell Fund and the Feal Good Foundation.

So if after reading this you want to help, please visit the website and look around at the different ways you can contribute to our goals of remembering the heroes of 9/11 while raising funds for 9/11 related charities.

9/11 WALL of Supporters

Since January of 2011, the 9/11 Patch Project has been adding the names of supporters to its 9/11 WALL. To date, there are many names of individuals, companies, fire departments, and other organizations that have stepped up to support the efforts of one of the longest running and farthest reaching 9/11 Projects in the world. Here is how you can contribute:

1. $9.11 X 1 = name, company or organization name
2. $9.11 X 2 = same but with name Bolded
3. $9.11 X 10= company or organization banner with website link on Sponsor Page.

The 9/11 Patch Project is a registered non-profit and these smaller donations insure that the project can continue the work it has been successfully doing around the world for 10 years.

Traffic to the 9/11 Patch Project website averages about 15,000 visits per month. According to Alexa, the website ranking organization, the website is ranked at 1.7 million, globally.

More about the 9/11 Patch Project and the fund raising patches and decals HERE

10 Yr 9/11 Original Firefighter Pin

A new item has been added to the 9/11 Patch Project online store. The pin pictured on the left, is a replica of the 10 Yr Original Patch and measures 1" X 1 1/4". 

These pins are made with a high end production process called Semi Cloisonné and not the photo etched or soft enamel pin that many offer out there. This is a very high quality and durable pin.

For those who are having a hard time getting the patch approved for your on duty uniform, this pin is a great alternative! With the 10 Year Anniversary of 9/11 only months away, now is a great time to get yours!

We will also be adding dog tags and key chains with this same design. Here is a sneak peek at the items:

Also, for those who have asked about T-Shirts, Hoodies, Mugs, Mouse Pads and other items, we have opened a store with Zazzle so that we can now supply them. Click the picture below to go to the store:

9/11 Patch Project Items