Day of enriches lives and softens hearts Encouragement [church and family] 147 On the Day of Encouragement, residents of the Timothy Hills Boy’s Ranch in Long Island, New York, hold a sign supporting the event on The Today Show Sept. 12. The Timothy Hills Boy’s Ranch was a place for underprivileged male youth; they also helped hand out 4,000 encouragement boxes to the policemen of Manhattan. [Courtesy of Brandon Tittle] September 11, 2001, was a day that was forever engraved into the minds of Americans.The day terrorists attacked the World Trade Centers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. affected everyone in some way.The students and members of the National Leadership Forum realized this fact and began looking for a way to counteract the haunting images associated with that day. As a result, eptember 12 became known as the Day of Encouragement. The day was created for people all over to lift someone’s spirit and to let them know they were appreciated. The Day of Encouragement started with a group of high school students from all over the nation who attended the National Leadership Forum (NLF) held on Harding’s campus in June of 2007. Students were challenged to name obstacles that faced high school students today. One group of students decided that the lack of encouragement on a daily basis hugely impacted their lives. As a way of changing this, a day of encouragement was established on September 12.The day was chosen by Andrew Baker, co-director of NLF, and the students in light of the attacks of September 11. Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas read the bill before Congress in hopes of getting more support so that the day might become nationally recognized. The goal of the bill, according to the Day of Encouragement website, was to “challenge people not to just think about the idea of encouragement but to do something that will encourage someone else.” In 2007, 42 out of 50 states and even Australia participated in some way for the very first Day of Encouragement. Harding received a letter from President George W. Bush in support of this effort. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City signed a National Proclamation for the city of Manhattan.Many mayors from around the nation,members of Congress and presidents of schools and corporations signed proclamations in support of the Day of Encouragement. Four thousand encouragement boxes were put together and distributed to the local fire departments, Searcy Police Department and Harding Security along with a large portion taken and distributed to the New York City Fire Departments of Manhattan. BrandonTittle, assistant director of the Institute of Church and Family, and his wife, Joy, flew to New York City and presented the boxes to the fire departments of Manhattan along with the Timothy Hill Boys Ranch on the Today Show. “My favorite memory was watching the boys pass out boxes and seeing the reaction on the New Yorkers faces,”Tittle said. Tittle was also responsible for the web site, www.letsencourage.com, and communication efforts with this event. The committee hoped of the Day of Encouragement would get more and more people involved and that eventually people from around the nation and even the world would encourage one another. [Marissa Shepard]
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