College sophomore David Sokoler is 250 minutes over his cell phone plan.
But it wasn't due to the typical calls home for cash or long-distance chats. Instead, Sokoler soaked up his minutes tracking down publishers and graphic designers.
Sokoler spearheaded a charity project with the help of the Families of September 11 fund to send personalized cards to the families of victims on the two-year anniversary of the attack.
Even though two years have passed, Sokoler said he wants to stress that "we still care."
"Even now when all the debris has been cleared, new plans are being made and new buildings are being constructed, there is still the same outpour of support," Sokoler noted.
Sokoler trekked through the Quadrangle matching up students with families and giving them time to write endearing messages.
College freshman Shimrat Yaniv filled out a card with painstaking care.
"I just wanted to make it really meaningful," Yaniv said. "I felt honored that I could make a personal connection.... It meant a lot more to me than a lot of other charitable things I've done."
"I told them that it wasn't just on a day like September 11 that the families were in my thoughts, but really they are in my prayers and thoughts every day," Yaniv said, describing what she wrote to the three children she was assigned to who had lost a parent in the attack.
As of Tuesday, half of the 70 families have been paired up with students, and Sokoler hopes the rest will be complete and ready to be sent out by early next week.
The idea dawned on him while on a plane ride home from Spain this summer, when he realized that although there were many venues for people to supply financial aid to families, there was more limited opportunity for personal interaction.
According to Sokoler, cards inspire people to be proactive, as opposed to "doing something retroactive, which is simply reflective in nature."
His original plans were a bit bigger -- literally -- as he hoped to produce cards that were 20 feet by 15 feet and place them on several college campuses for students to sign and then ultimately display at Ground Zero.
However, after some thought and discussion with the Families of September 11 organization, Sokoler decided to scale it down a bit and opt for individualized cards.
Families of September 11 sent out Sokoler's proposal to its listserv of families to see who wished to receive a card. Seventy families have replied so far, and the responses are still rolling in.
Upon reply, families usually provide insight as to their loss -- who passed away, what they did, who their survivors are and occasionally touching anecdotes about the victim.
Although Sokoler admitted that "some of them were really difficult to read," he said that "it is better when we get information on who died so the message is not generic, which would defeat the purpose of the card."
Despite his extensive planning, Sokoler did not receive the cards until the morning of Sept. 10. Big City Graphics in New York City produced and shipped 3,000 cards to Sokoler overnight at no cost.
Sokoler also got the cards designed free of charge. The design includes a red, white and blue ribbon as well as a script inscription of a message Sokoler composed -- "Two years ago, my heart was drawn to you. Since that time, my heart has been with you. Now and forever... I pledge my heart to you."
On Sept. 11, Philadelphia's local NBC news channel came to Penn to cover Sokoler's efforts, and although he said this has been an overall rewarding experience, he was unsure if he would continue to work with the same charity in the future.
Instead, he said he may develop another unique way to keep showing that he cares.
