This week an anonymous donor stuffed $10,000 cash in a small donation box at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St. The windfall was a stunning surprise and the largest cash donation ever.

Since discovering the money in the box, which typically receives loose change and small bills, 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels has been expressing his gratitude to this unknown benefactor. In case you missed it, here's how the New York Post reported the story.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Staff photographer Amy Dreher snaps a lot of pictures at the World Trade Center site, documenting the construction progress of the 9/11 Memorial. Amy also trains her lens on the smaller pieces that may be overlooked with a project of this magnitude. Through “The Lens: Viewing the 9/11 Memorial,” readers of The MEMO blog can share some of the unique vantage points captured by Amy.

Shuttered, not Forgotten: Recently, photographer Amy Dreher snapped a picture of a sign (above) posted on the emergency loading dock of the now closed St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village. Years ago, missing posters hung from the walls of the now defunct hospital.  

As noted by Alexandra Drakakis of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the hospital was one of the closest to the World Trade Center site. Its walls attracted missing posters distributed by the family and friends of those last seen on their way to work at the World Trade Center towers that morning or in the vicinity of the WTC complex, Drakakis said.  As days and weeks passed, these posters became memorials to the loved ones no longer expected to be found alive. Those posters have long gone. And now so too has St. Vincent's. But the history remains and will be told in the memorial museum.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial.

Alexandra Drakakis and Amy Dreher contributed to the post.

Someone's kindness knows no bounds.  An anonymous gift-giver left $10,000 in cash in a small donation box at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site at 20 Vesey St.  Typically, the box receives small donations such as pennies and a few dollars. Imagine the surprise when the preview site staff discovered this sizable and generous gift.

While we don't know who left the donation, everyone with the 9/11 Memorial is grateful that someone acknowledges the importance of supporting this national tribute.  

"We'd love to know who it was so we can say thank," 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels told the New York Post. Read more about the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site and about this mysterious donor in The Post.

Find out how you can support the 9/11 Memorial by clicking here.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

About 60 miles west of New York City, a piece of World Trade Center steel will serve as the anchor for a memorial to Warren County resdients who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a report by lehighvalleylive.com.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is donating the steel for the memorial that is being proposed for a location near the county's fire academy in Franklin Township. Supporters hope the memorial is completed in time for the 10th anniversary of the terror strikes.

The memorial is to honor three Warren County residents who died on Sept. 11, 2001. It will also honor first responders from the town who died in the line of duty between 1911 and 1997, including three firefighters and six police officers, the report said.

The Port Authority, which is building the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, is seeking proposals from public and city agencies and not-for-profit groups interested in acquiring a piece of 9/11 World Trade Center steel for public display. Tons and tons of WTC steel are being stored at a JFK airport hangar and  pieces of the steel are being shipped nationwide.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

Staff photographer Amy Dreher snaps a lot of pictures at the World Trade Center site, documenting the construction progress of the 9/11 Memorial. Amy also trains her lens on the smaller pieces that may be overlooked with a project of this magnitude. Through “The Lens: Viewing the 9/11 Memorial,” readers of The MEMO blog can share some of the unique vantage points captured by Amy.

Rebirth: Strong, sturdy oak trees are being planted on the 9/11 Memorial's plaza at the World Trade Center site. By this time next year, about 250 trees will be planted there. Shown in the above picture are a few of 16 trees planted last month, the first of more than 400 that are planned for the plaza. The planting began in the early morning and lasted throughout a brilliant sunny Saturday in late August. With camera in hand, Amy Dreher buckled down and spent most of the night snapping pictures like these.

Take a look through Amy's lens for more pictures taken that night.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial. 

Every day at the World Trade Center site is a new chance for us to make progress on the construction of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. And every week from now until the end of November is a new chance for you to help us win $200,000.

As we finish building America’s tribute to those killed in the World Trade Center terror attacks of 2001 and 1993, please click here to vote for us to win funding from Members Project. It’s free and easy to vote, and we need your support each week to win these much-needed funds. 

Take a good look and the two above images. On top is a recent photo of current construction on the project. Below it is an architectural rendering of the completed 9/11 Memorial. So many signature elements are already visible, bridging the gap between a concept and reality.

• Both of the Memorial Pools have been framed in steel, filled with concrete and are almost completely lined with granite stone.
• Between the pools, the Museum Pavilion’s steel is rising. The Twin Tower "tridents," two large steel remnants recovered from the North Tower façade, stand strong at the site today. With these two 50-ton artifacts in place, Pavilion construction can continue around them.
• At least 35 trees have been planted on the Memorial Plaza, bringing life back to the World Trade Center site. More than 400 trees will eventually take root at the site to create a vital new green space in New York City.

Help us make history by opening the Memorial on the tenth anniversary. Vote now >>

By Joe Daniels, President and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial

In the above picture, Warren Godridge of Drive 21 is posting a sign on the box containing a 35-mm camera that is a part of Project Rebirth’s roster of 14 cameras that are capturing the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. The camera is positioned at St. Paul’s Chapel near the corner of Church and Vesey streets and will be taking pictures every five minutes to capture this historic reconstruction.

See more pictures and read more about it in a DNAinfo.com report by Julie Shapiro. Also, visit Project Rebirth on Facebook.  

By Caitlin Olson

Olson is the Executive Director of Project Rebirth

New York Times best-selling author Peter Balakian read a powerful selection of 9/11-themed poems yesterday at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St., as part of the well-received “9/11, Today and Tomorrow” speakers series. The poems conjured up feelings and imagery of the World Trade Center before and after the attacks.

Balakian, a professor in humanities and English at Colgate University, has authored five books of poems and three prose works, including the Times best seller “The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response.” His new book, titled “Ziggurat,” wrestles with the aftermath and reverberations of 9/11. Balakian will share some of these September 11-themed works and explain the inspiration behind his words.

Balakian kicked off the fall and winter 2010 speakers series that continues next month with 9/11 Memorial architect Michael Arad on Nov. 10.  RSVP now for Arad's presentation and other events in the series, which had its debut earlier this year.

If you missed Balakian's event, don't worry. Next week the program will be avaialble in HD video online for free thanks to WNET.ORG's Thirteen Forum.  Return to The MEMO blog for any updates on the speakers series, the online video and other events presented by the 9/11 Memorial.

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

New York Times best-selling author Peter Balakian will read a selection of 9/11-themed poems tonight at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St., as part of the well-received "9/11, Today and Tomorrow" speakers series.

It's not too late to RSVP for this event and others in this dynamic series.

Balakian, a professor in humanities and English at Colgate University, has authored five books of poems and three prose works, including the Times best seller "The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response." His new book, titled "Ziggurat," wrestles with the aftermath and reverberations of 9/11. Balakian will share some of these September 11-themed works and explain the inspiration behind his words.

 He will also be available to sign copies of his new book. Listen to a NPR interview with Balakian here.

Balakian will be the first speaker in the series fall and winter lineup. Others events include a talk with the 9/11 Memorial's architect Michael Arad. All the speakers series events are at the 9/11 Memorial Preview Site, 20 Vesey St. (Between Church Street and Broadway)

By Michael Frazier, Sr. Communications Manager for the 9/11 Memorial

On October 12, 2000, 11 months before the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole was refueling at a port in Yemen when a motorboat approached and suicide bombers detonated 1,000 pounds of explosives. The blast killed 17 and injured 39 crew members, while blowing a hole forty-feet wide in the side of the ship. The attack was attributed to a cell within the al Qaeda network.

When I talk about the twin mission of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to commemorate and educate, we often say that the events of 9/11 are part of an ongoing story, one that began well before that day and that continues to shape our world well beyond it. Like the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people in New York City, the USS Cole bombing was an attack by al Qaeda terrorists on United States citizens—an event that preceded September 11, 2001, and is critical to understanding the questions that arose after that day.

Ten years ago today, 17 U.S. sailors were killed far from home. Their parents had sent their sons and daughters off to protect our country and the values that make it great. They might have expected a letter or a call home that day, but instead they were met with the news that their brave children had become casualties of a heinous terrorist attack. On this anniversary, we remember the families of those killed aboard the USS Cole ten years ago.

To learn more about the USS Cole please click here.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum will honor the 2,982 people killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Today, please join us as we remember that 9/11 and 1993 exist in the context of other dates like October 12, 2000. By honoring the memories of those murdered by terrorists, we reaffirm our determination to prevail against hate.

By Joe Daniels, President and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial