9/11 Day

Tomorrow Together

Higher Education

What is Tomorrow Together?

“Tomorrow Together” is a five-year initiative, led by the nonprofit 9/11 Day organization and supported by a diverse community of national service, youth, faith and education organizations, to actively promote the ideals of unity, empathy and service among young people throughout the United States. "Tomorrow Together" officially launched on September 11, 2016.

Those who join "Tomorrow Together” are expressing their support for the mission of unity, and are committed to incorporating into their programs, however they see fit, activities and teachings that help young people understand and develop the skills necessary for empathy, peace and togetherness, with community service as an important program element.

While many "Tomorrow Together" programs may launch or be timed annually to coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, “Tomorrow Together” is meant to be an on-going, long term program to instill the values of unity and cultivate a new generation of empathetic change makers.

How can Higher Education Institutions Get Involved?

The George Washington University has joined forces with the 9/11 Day organization to build a Tomorrow Together Higher Education Coalition to engage young people in colleges and universities in the Tomorrow Together initiative. Higher education institutions play an important role in addressing social issues by unifying the strengths of their diverse student bodies, faculty, administration and surrounding communities. Tomorrow Together supports the expansion of these efforts that promote diversity, inclusive excellence and unity through service.

Colleges and universities can:

  1. Plan community service activities on or around 9/11 Day each year leading up to the 20th anniversary of 9/11 Day in 2021. Service activities should bring together students, who might not typically spend time together and/or bringing students and community members together for service that improves the community.
  2. Incorporate and promote the Tomorrow Together Higher Education values of diversity, inclusion, unity, and empathy into service activities planned throughout the school year. This includes planning activities that are specifically designed to bring together campus and community groups across abilities, ethnicities, socio-economic class, political viewpoints, race, religion, sexual orientation and other differences.
  3. Promote Tomorrow Together to other colleges and universities within your sphere of influence.

To join Tomorrow Together Higher Education complete the Commitment Form to share your plans. We may contact you to feature your plans in promotions for 9/11 Day and Tomorrow Together. After your event(s), share with us what you did, who was involved, and the impact you made.


How Can Higher Education Promote Diversity, Inclusion, and Unity through Service?

There are three ways to approach incorporating diversity, inclusion, and unity in your service activities:

  • You can bring students together, who do not traditionally spend time together to work on a service project. By bringing students from various backgrounds together--be it political, ethnic, social, religious, etc.--to serve the community together, and to reflect upon the benefits of working together, your campus can promote unity, diversity and inclusion through service.
  • You can identify community projects in the areas surrounding the campus where students may not ordinarily spend time. Bringing community members and students together to do service can help to improve town - gown relations and promote unity among the greater community.
  • You can combine the first two options by bringing together a diverse group of students to serve alongside community residents on a project that benefits the community.

For a few project ideas, see page 7 of the 9/11 Tomorrow Together Higher Education Toolkit.

How Can an Institution Incorporate Its Current Service Initiatives?

Does you campus currently:

  • Commemorate 9/11 Day through campus events?
  • Participate in the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance?
  • Host a Freshman Day of Service?
  • Host a Back to School community service event?
  • Hold other community service activities in September and throughout the academic year?

If your campus is currently doing any of these activities, consider incorporating the themes of Tomorrow Together Higher Education. Those themes include diversity, inclusion, empathy, and unity through service. For more information on various ways to include these themes in the service or reflection, see the Higher Education Toolkit.

A Message for Campus Compact Schools

The goals of Tomorrow Together Higher Education are consistent with the Campus Compact commitments from the 30th Anniversary Action Statement to advance the public purposes of higher education, including:

  • Empowering students, faculty, staff, and community partners to co-create mutually respectful partnerships in pursuit of a just, equitable, and sustainable future for communities beyond the campus—nearby and around the world.
  • Preparing students for lives of engaged citizenship, with the motivation and capacity to deliberate, act, and lead in pursuit of the public good.
  • Embracing responsibilities as place based institutions, contributing to the health and strength of our communities—economically, socially, environmentally, educationally, and politically.
  • Harnessing the capacity of our institutions—through research, teaching, partnerships, and institutional practice—to challenge the prevailing social and economic inequalities that threaten our democratic future.
  • Fostering an environment that consistently affirms the centrality of the public purposes of higher education by setting high expectations for members of the campus community to contribute to their achievement.

Additionally, Tomorrow Together Higher Education shares in the goals of the Campus Compact Fund for Positive Engagement which seeks to catalyze experimental responses to division and polarization on campuses. These divisions are often caused by differences in political viewpoints and have led to identity-based threats and marginalization; heightened levels of fear and anxiety within campus communities; as well as social ostracism for students whose political views differ from the majority of their peers. Tomorrow Together Higher Education believes that community engagement and service can play a role in addressing these challenges.

What are the Benefits for Our School?

Tomorrow Together will:

  • Bring greater attention to service and civic engagement at your college/university as part of a national 9/11 Day Tomorrow Together movement;
  • Showcase your school’s value and active programming for diversity and inclusion, civic engagement and community improvement programs;
  • Identify your school as being in the forefront of addressing social issues and highlighting community assets with inclusive excellence; and,
  • Provide students/faculty with messaging to address issues of diversity and inclusion and opportunities to include these messages in service-learning activities with students.

Higher Education Toolkit

Contact

Arthurine Walker, Coordinator

911 Day Tomorrow Together Higher Education

911Day@mail.gwu.edu

410-292-7449