Keep your promise that you’d “never forget.”
It’s hard to believe that this month marks the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As the first generation of young people born after the tragedy reaches adulthood, it’s important that we continue to honor the memory of the innocent lives lost at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as well as the many first responders and volunteers who sacrificed so much to help others that day. Many of the heroes of 9/11 subsequently lost their lives to illness, while others continue to suffer from debilitating physical and emotional scars. As a country, we promised that we would “Never Forget” but in our busy lives, and as memory begins to fade, we often have difficulty finding meaningful ways to give back in honor of this important day in U.S. history.
Many people don’t realize that September 11 was designated as a federal holiday — Patriot Day — by a joint resolution of Congress just a few months after the attacks. Then, in 2009, Congress officially requested the observance of 9/11 as an annually recognized “National Day of Service and Remembrance.” Many nonprofits were created after the attacks to remember the people we lost and to support those who were impacted and continue to live with the lingering effects. Volunteering with one of these organizations, or finding another small but meaningful way to give back, is a wonderful way to honor this solemn anniversary, exercise your civic duty, and strengthen your community.
Where to volunteer and give back on 9/11
9/11Day.org
The 9/11 Day organization was created to transform September 11th from a day of sadness into the largest day of service in the United States, recruiting over 30 million participants annually and facilitating service projects. The most significant of these is a meal-packing effort in several major cities that creates over six million meals for people facing food insecurity. This year, 9/11 Day is asking everyone to sign the #IWillfor911Day pledge and commit to participating in acts of kindness and service. The 9/11Day.org website provides an #IWillfor911Day toolkit along with tons of lists and resources for individuals, families, nonprofits, faith groups, businesses, and teachers. Once you’ve explored the 9/11 Day website, you can’t possibly find an excuse not to engage in at least one good deed this month.
Stars of Hope
Stars of Hope is the flagship program of the New York Says Thank You Foundation. For over a decade after 9/11, the New York Says Thank You Foundation empowered volunteers — most of them first responders and survivors of the attacks — to travel to locations around the country that had experienced a natural disaster or mass tragedy in an effort to “pay forward” the humanity, kindness, and generosity that New Yorkers experienced after 9/11. The Stars of Hope program grew out of these service trips and uses therapeutic art-making to encourage survivors to create painted wooden stars with hopeful messages to share with a community that’s suffering. These stars, which are hung around neighborhoods and delivered to survivors, have been proven to reduce stress, anxiety, and trauma symptoms and to promote healing. You can purchase a “Box of Hope,” which includes 15 wooden stars, acrylic paint, and paintbrushes. Host a painting party with friends, or work with your family to create colorful stars with positive, affirming, and hopeful messages. The packaging is designed to be re-used to send your creations to a community in need.
Tunnel to Towers Foundation
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation honors the bravery of firefighter Stephen Siller who lost his life, along with 342 fellow firefighters, on 9/11. On that bright September morning in 2001, Siller had just finished his shift at Squad 1 in Brooklyn. He was on his way to play golf with his brothers when he heard the news over his scanner that a plane had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Siller grabbed his gear and drove his truck to the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to get to lower Manhattan to help. The tunnel had already been closed for security, so Stiller threw 60 lbs of gear on his back and ran through the tunnel to the Twin Towers. Siller rushed into the buildings and was killed. Every year, a 5K fundraising road race retraces Sillers route through the tunnel and ends at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in lower Manhattan.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation helps America’s heroes by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The Foundation hosts a full calendar of national events including walks, runs, and stair climbs, as well as a golf series. Explore the website to participate in an event in your area or to make a donation.
Honor, remember, and be kind
If you can’t find time in early September to volunteer with any of the organizations named above, you can still honor the September 11 Day of Service with small, intentional acts of kindness. Bake cookies and deliver them, along with a thoughtful note of gratitude, to your local firehouse or police station. Visit a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital and spend time with a veteran. Write letters of support and mail them to Operation Gratitude to include in care packages for soldiers. Pick up the tab for a first responder in a restaurant or coffee shop. Or simply reach out with kindness and do a good deed for someone in need in your community.
If every American committed to doing just one good deed on September 11 each year, we would rekindle the spirit of unity that brought us all together in the days after the tragedy and ensure that everyone lost that day and in the years that followed are honored and remembered.
Natalie Silverstein, MPH, is a writer, speaker, podcast host, nonprofit founder, and passionate advocate for family and youth service. She is the author of two books on volunteering, Simple Acts: The Busy Family’s Guide to Giving Back and Simple Acts: The Busy Teen’s Guide to Making a Difference. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook at @simpleactsguide.
