As America remembers the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, one organization is encouraging people to honor their memory in a powerful and positive way: by doing something good for someone else.
9/11 Day, a nonprofit founded by 9/11 family members, created the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. Its mission is to transform a day of tremendous loss into a day of unity, kindness and service.
The idea is simple: perform a good deed in memory of those who died and in honor of the survivors, first responders, recovery workers and countless people who came together to help in the aftermath of the attacks.
A good deed can be almost anything — helping a neighbor, donating food, volunteering at a shelter, paying for someone’s coffee, checking on an elderly friend or simply offering kindness to someone who needs it. 9/11 Day also organizes large-scale volunteer efforts, including meal-packing events that provide food to people facing hunger.
This September 11, instead of remembering only what was lost, 9/11 Day asks Americans to remember what we are capable of when we come together.
Do one good thing for someone else. Do it in memory of someone you never got the chance to know. And help turn September 11 into a day of service, compassion and hope.