None of the seventh graders sitting in the seventh-grade Rifle Middle School literacy classes were alive on Sept. 11, 2001.

Twenty-five years later, they are learning what happened that day, what followed, and what remembering it can mean for their generation.

On Thursday, Sept. 10, students from Chris Moon and Nancy Hauer’s English Language Arts classes put that learning into action. Rifle Middle School partnered with High Country Volunteers to assemble 911 activity kits for Project Sunshine as part of the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The students are currently reading Ground Zero by Alan Gratz, a historical fiction novel that connects the events of Sept. 11, 2001, with the experiences of a young Afghan girl nearly two decades later.

For Hauer, the service project gave students another way to connect with the history they are studying.

“They have the opportunity to participate in a way that helps them understand that we must never forget the importance of caring for others,” Hauer said. “We all need to find ways that we can make things better for our world, our communities, our friends and classmates.”

Seventh Grader Heydi Macias said the day of service project delivers that message clearly.

“Nine eleven was a big tragedy,” said Heydi. “Projects like this help bring people together for a common cause.”

The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance encourages Americans to honor those who were killed and the first responders through volunteer service in their own communities.

That idea of responding to a difficult moment by helping someone else took a tangible form Thursday. Rifle Middle School students assembled Project Sunshine Kits for Play that will be distributed to pediatric patients. Project Sunshine works with hospitals and other medical facilities to provide children with safe, creative activities designed to bring play, connection and a sense of normalcy during medical treatment.

Each RMS student assembled at least five kits.

Inside were items such as a hand puppet, journal, crayons, stickers and an activity booklet. Students also added a small personal touch to each kit, including their first name and favorite animal.

“There's a little personal touch from each of our students that's going out somewhere into our region to brighten a day in the life of a pediatric patient,” Hauer said.

“It feels good to spend some time and help children who are in the hospital,” explained Harper Williams. “These children can use a little bit of joy.”

The project came together through Hauer’s teaching partner, Chris Moon, whose wife, Mary, works with High Country Volunteers. They saw an opportunity to help students see the connection to the saying, “We must never forget,” in reference to September 11. 

“Nine Eleven is a National Day of Service,” said Hauer, “and it fit perfectly with our plans for the novel we are teaching.”

For the students, it connected the understanding of an event that happened long before they were born to how people responded to tragedy, to their power to make a difference for someone they may never meet.

It is a lesson Hauer and Moon hope lasts beyond the pages of Ground Zero. Both Harper and Heydi have taken that to heart, saying they will continue helping others by looking for ways to volunteer or donate to service organizations like Lift-UP or Journey Home Animal Shelter.