Wunderman Thompson Partners with 9/11 Day To Launch Virtual Volunteering Platform 

Wunderman Thompson, a WPP agency, announced today its collaboration in the launch of a major new initiative in response to Covid-19, called ‘9/11 Day At Home.’  Built in observance of 9/11 Day, the nation’s largest annual day of charitable engagement, this digital initiative enables millions of Americans to participate in many charitable activities virtually and from the safety of home. Getting involved is as simple as visiting 911day.org. 

To launch the platform, Wunderman Thompson worked in partnership with 9/11 Day, the nonprofit that successfully worked to establish the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as a federally-recognised National Day of Service and Remembrance (‘9/11 Day’). 

With the outbreak of Covid-19, the team faced the challenge of making this day of service accessible remotely to all Americans. Each act of service provided via the 9/11 Day At Home program needed to be virtual, so that millions of Americans could participate without ever leaving home. 9/11 Day chose 11 primary good deeds as thought starters visitors to its web site could access, then asked Wunderman Thompson to create and launch a platform of ‘virtual volunteering’ that would showcase the initiative and achieve national reach. 

Wunderman Thompson took the lead in building a platform inspired in part by first responders and essential workers who acted in service of those in need—both in response to the attacks of 9/11 19 years ago and during the current Covid-19 pandemic. The platform brings together more than 60 non-profit organisations to power good deeds focused on many of the critical issues facing our nation today, including response to the pandemic, hunger relief, social justice, voting, mental health, supporting first responders and many others. All told there are more than 50 good deed opportunities included in the program to inspire altruistic audiences. Each deed is easy to do from home, yet has measurable impact in the world at large.  

Wunderman Thompson ran the creative partnership and leadership from New York (web and social, user experience, design, and copy), with support from offices in Memphis (media planning) and Buenos Aires (production). The agency is proud to have provided communications, branding, assets, and the core user experience platform, making it seamless for someone to do a good deed.

“It’s been incredibly rewarding to help the 9/11 Day team design a good deeds platform that supports both remembrance and ongoing action in honour of those impacted by the events of 9/11,” said Sherine Kazim, chief experience officer, Wunderman Thompson North America. “This 9/11, how do we encourage others to get involved and make an impact? By providing a path to virtually volunteer from the comfort of their own couch. It is service made simple—the very heart of human-centred experiences,” continued Sherine. 

"We were facing the extraordinary and near-impossible challenge, because of Covid-19, of needing to completely reinvent the annual 9/11 Day of Service and turn it into a compelling digital platform that would be capable of inspiring millions of people to engage in charitable service virtually," said David Paine, co-founder of 9/11 Day. "The team at Wunderman Thompson never flinched. They literally put their hearts and souls into the work, delivering an extraordinarily creative solution not only for the challenge we faced, but also as a long-term platform to fuel the growth of our observance for years to come.”

The campaign and platform are just the beginning of a larger national service movement which will grow in 2021 for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The 9/11 Day website will become a permanent online resource to help people of all ages engage in charitable service digitally and to continue to harness the spirit of compassion that lives in the hearts of millions of Americans. In the fall of 2021, stay tuned for something even bigger planned, something that brings the spirit of compassion and service to life in ways that are even more rallying, inspirational and widespread.