• by Les Luchter , Yesterday

Actor/comedian Pete Davidson, who lost his firefighter dad in the 2001 terrorist attacks when he was just seven years old, is the face of “UNIITE For Good,” a just-launched campaign from nonprofit 9/11 Day. A key goal: to get 1 million Americans committing to good deeds in commemoration of the tragic day’s 25^thanniversary in two weeks.

The “UNIITE For Good” name, created in partnership with David&Goliath, has its first word mispelled delibarately -- both to evoke the destroyed Twin Towers in New York City, “as well as individual Americans joining together to unite as one,” the agency tells Marketing Daily.

Davidson, now a 32-year-old millennial, should help the campaign reach younger audiences including Gen Z-ers and others who are too young to personally remember the September 11, 2001 events -- or their aftermath.

"For millions of younger Americans, 9/11 is history rather than memory," David Paine, president and co-founder of 9/11 Day,” explained in a statement. "That makes it even more important that we pass along not only the story of what happened that morning, but also what happened afterward — the compassion, service and remarkable sense of unity that emerged across the country."

Since its founding in 2002, 9/11 Day’s successes include getting Sept. 11 established as a federally recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance, which the nonprofit says has become “the nation's largest annual day of charitable engagement.”  “That's how we intend to help keep the promise to never forget," Jay Winuk, 9/11 Day’s other co-founder, proclaimed.

“9/11 is usually a tough day, but this organization…does something cool, where you do a good deed for someone and you pass it along,” Davidson says  in a :60 appeal that highlights 9/11 Day’s largest campaign to date.

Ads from David&Goliath, with media handled by sister agency Innocean USA, include both paid and PSA content on TV, radio, digital, social media, out-of-home, and full-page print ads.

The OOH ads feature a one-word message -- “UNIITE” -- at locations in more than 20 cities, including Times Square in New York City.

The print ads, in news and business publications, offer a “UNIITE For Good Manifesto,” described as “a declaration about the power of service and shared humanity to transcend political, generational, geographic and cultural differences.”.

Content directs Americans to 911Day.org,  where a pledge form contains a wide range of “good deed” suggestions that can be selected at random (e.g., “help a neighbor with yard work, “buy coffee for the person behind me,” “volunteer at an animal shelter”)  -- or visitors can come up with their own deeds.

Another key element of 9/11 Day’s efforts this year include a volunteer mobilization to fight hunger in 51 cities, which the nonprofit expects to be “one of the largest single-day corporate volunteer mobilizations ever undertaken in the United States.”

More than 50,000 volunteers are expected to pack more than 18 million shelf-stable meals for donation to Feeding America–affiliated food banks and local organizations.

More than 700 companies, pro sports leagues, colleges and nonprofits are helping to supply the volunteers.

Another 70,000+ volunteers are expected to engage in locally led youth and community programs through 9/11 Day’s distribution of $3 million in grants to some 200 nonprofits in 40 states, with 70% of recipients being youth organizations and educational institutions. This program is funded by the Popeyes Foundation and AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism

9/11 Day also invites people to find volunteer opportunities through a “first-of-its-kind” nationwide volunteer search engine platform powered by Eventbrite that it’s launching. The platform also allows nonprofits, schools, community organizations and others to post their own volunteer opportunities at no cost.

In addition to Popeyes and AmeriCorps, other funders of for 9/11 Day activities include  Delta Air Lines, Citi, JPMorganChase, Nestlé, Target, The Pfizer Foundation, MetLife Foundation, National Football League, Major League Baseball, Lockheed Martin, Starbucks, and Comcast NBCUniversal.