Updated

NEW YORK -- A New York City foundation is donating a U.S. flag recovered from ground zero to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

The group's spokesman David Vermillion says the tattered, 20-foot-by-30-foot flag will first embark on a national tour. People from different areas of the country will help restore it to its original 13-stripe format, using pieces from retired flags.

After a two-year tour, the flag will become part of the September 11 museum's permanent collection.

It's being donated by the New York Says Thank You Foundation. It's a nonprofit group that was founded to repay the acts of kindness the city received after 9/11.

The group sends volunteers to help rebuild communities across the country affected by disasters.

Click here to see a photograph of the flag at NYPost.com.