BATON ROUGE - Saturday afternoon, volunteers from across Baton Rouge gathered to paint a special project.

Together they created a tribute mural in honor of the people and first responders who were killed or injured in the attacks on 9/11.
The mural is now on display for all to see at Fire Station 11 on Highland Road.

"Luckily for us they chose our station which has a lot of visibility to showcase this work. The fact that they chose us was a true blessing,"said Shane Hernandez with the Baton Rouge Fire Department.

He's one of several Baton Rouge firefighters who volunteered to paint.
Hernandez says the mural also serves as a reminder as to why he chose to join the profession.

"It just means a lot to see 9/11 here. It's kind of why a lot of us got into it. Several firefighters lost their lives, and it was a wake up call for our industry," he said.
Student athletes from LSU and Southern University, joined with other community organizations such as the Walls Project, and the Urban League of Louisiana to make the vision come to life.

"We just wanted to thank our first responders for all of the things they do to keep us safe," said Marlin Hollins with the Urban League of Lousiana.

"For us to publicly acknowledge what happened is super important for the community as well," said Taryn Antoine with Athletes for Hope.

It's an honor, organizers say to see the community turning a day of tragedy into a day of service.

"One of many things that Louisiana does right is come together as a community and celebrate each other," said Morgan Udoh with the Walls Project.