The 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could be the beginning of a national ritual that turns a day of shock and loss into a day of service that celebrates the triumph of good over evil.
Families of the victims of 9/11 already have succeeded in getting Sept. 11 recognized as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. The law was signed in 2009.
Now, they have gathered a coalition of charities and businesses to organize volunteer events in hundreds of U.S. cities this 9/11 in honor of the more than 3,000 people who lost their lives that day.
"We want future generations to understand the other side of 9/11, that good people responded in good ways," says Jay Winuk, co-founder of MyGoodDeed, which led efforts to have 9/11 declared a day of service. His brother Glenn, an attorney and volunteer firefighter, died after rushing to the World Trade Center to help.
Volunteer events are being organized in two dozen cities by the HandsOn Network, which also has asked all 250 of its affiliates to participate. Organizers are asking local chambers of commerce and military families, through The Mission Continues, to mobilize their networks and are enlisting celebrities and media companies to spread the word. Scholastic magazine will e-mail 1 million teachers with lesson plans using the anniversary to emphasize public service.
The effort kicks off July 14 at the U.S Capitol.
"The spirit we all felt in the days after, we want to keep that spirit of service and support of your fellow man alive," says Amy Smith, president of the HandsOn Network.
Corporate sponsors include Best Buy, JPMorgan Chase, GlaxoSmithKline, Target and American Express, which donated $1 million and is planning to engage its cardholders and 29,000 employees, says Timothy McClimon, president of the American Express Foundation.
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which awarded $700,000 in federal grants for community projects for the Martin Luther King Jr. day of service this year, plans to award similar grants for 9/11 projects, says spokesman Sandy Scott.
Clear Channel Communications has pledged 46,000 public service announcements in 300 markets, beginning in mid-August, in which ordinary Americans and celebrities pledge an act of service.
Organizers hope to document it all at 911day.org, where individuals can dedicate a good deed in honor of a 9/11 victim.
"If the result of 9/11 is that decades from now 50 million people go out and do good deeds in the names of those who were lost, that would be a remarkable and inspiring story," says David Paine, a co-founder of MyGoodDeed.
John Duffy, chairman and CEO of financial firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, describes the day he lost his son Chris and 66 other co-workers as "our generation's Pearl Harbor."
"Will the next generation that was either too young or maybe not even born, will they remember? No," Duffy says. Organizers "are taking something horrific and creating a positive event that each successive generation can embrace for its own merits."
Among opportunities to get involved:
In the San Francisco area, care packages will be collected to send to active-duty military personnel and patients at VA hospitals. Volunteers also will weed urban gardens and do a riverbank cleanup in nearby San Jose.
In the Cleveland area, volunteers will make crafts for shut-ins and hold firehouse dinners to thank first responders, says Jeff Griffiths, executive director of HandsOn Northeast Ohio.
In Boston, a volunteer fair and emergency preparedness training for families will be held at the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
In Birmingham, Ala., activities will focus on recovery from this summer's tornadoes. "It's all about people pulling together to help each other make their communities better," says Tree Davidson, director of the local HandsOn. "I don't think there's a better way to honor the victims and the victims' families."
