9/11 Day – getting millions to virtually volunteer during a global pandemic
Client: 9/11 Day
Role: Product Designer
Year: 2021
Today, 9/11 Day is the country’s official Day of Service. But this year, they had to facilitate a “day of service” during a global pandemic—getting people to volunteer, while staying safe at home.
We designed an experience called 9/11 Day at Home to eliminate barriers, drive action and rally engagement—and we met people where they were: The couch.
The project won a Webby Award and a Silver Shorty award in 2021.
We promoted deeds on social, celebrating their completion with shareable badges and an AR filter. Key influencers spread the message to hundreds of millions.
The #911day At Home campaign and platform shifted the conversation, raised mass awareness of 9/11 Day’s mission, and most importantly engaged millions to complete good deeds on 9/11.
The campaign garnered over 1.1 billion earned impressions. Millions of Americans became aware of the #911day At Home mission. High-profile figures, from Jennifer Lopez to Barack Obama, urged their followers to complete deeds on 911day.org and shared deed completion badges on their social channels.
Over 29 million people participated in #911day At Home in the U.S. Volunteers completed all kinds of good deeds, including delivering over 42,000 meals to first responders as thanks for their service, while supporting local restaurants across the nation. Over a million students across 25,000 classrooms engaged in service-learning for #9/11day too.
Our simple site experience let visitors complete deeds that helped people in their communities or across the country. In a few taps, they could support local restaurants, feed a first responder, or speak up about mental health.
We included time-investment indicators and streamlined nonprofit API (no extra forms or payment gateways) so visitors could complete deeds within minutes, without ever leaving the site.