September 11 National Day of Service

Last updated
September 11 National Day of Service
911 Square PNG.png
Date(s)September 11th
FrequencyAnnual
Organized by AmeriCorps
Website americorps.gov/911-day

The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance or 9/11 Day is a federally-recognized National Day of Service that happens in the United States on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Originally founded by the 9/11 nonprofit MyGoodDeed (d.b.a. 9/11 Day), the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance later became federally recognized and authorized as a Day of Service passage of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which was adopted on a bipartisan basis by the U.S. Congress in 2009. Later that year, President Barack Obama amended the Patriot Day Presidential Proclamation, first established by President George W. Bush, officially designating September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Surveys conducted by MyGoodDeed claim that approximately 35 million Americans observe 9/11 Day by engaging in some form of charitable service, making 9/11 Day the largest annual day of charitable service in the United States. The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, are the only Days of Service officially recognized and established under federal law and Presidential Proclamation.

Contents

Purpose

According to the nonprofit MyGoodDeed, the purpose of the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance is to transform the anniversary of 9/11 from a day of tragedy into a day of doing good. "We wanted to make sure the terrorists didn't have the last word in forever defining for generations to how America would remember and observe 9/11," said 9/11 Day and MyGoodDeed co-founder David Paine. "We wanted instead to honor the victims and those who rose in service by keeping alive the spirit of unity and service that arose in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks."

History

The idea of turning September 11 into an annual day of service was originally conceived in early 2002 by David Paine, at that time a public relations executive who had grown up in New York City. Later that year, David was joined by his friend Jay Winuk to form the nonprofit group One Day's Pay. Jay's younger brother Glenn J. Winuk, at attorney at Holland & Knight LLP, and a volunteer firefighter affiliated with the Jericho Fire Department, had been killed in the line of duty while participating in the rescue efforts. He was killed when the World Trade Center South Tower Collapsed. Glenn's remains were found approximately six months later, in what remained of the South Tower Lobby area, alongside other first responders, with a medic kit he had borrowed on the scene. In 2007, the name of the organization was changed to MyGoodDeed. In 2011, in observance of the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, MyGoodDeed joined with other national service organizations in helping to organize what was then considered to be the largest day of charitable service in U.S. history, with more than 30 million Americans participating, according to research conducted by Horizon Consumer Science on behalf of MyGoodDeed. Today, 9/11 Day continues to engage over 30 million Americans annually in various forms of charitable service, including volunteering, donations to charities, and simple good deeds. [1] [2] [3]

Activities

Activities by volunteers on this federally-recognized National Day of Service and Remembrance have traditionally happened largely on a grassroots level across the nation, through service projects organized by local nonprofits, employers, and faith groups and others. Many people share their plans and messages through social media on 9/11 using the hashtag #911Day. Additionally many schools and students now engage in service-related activities as part of lessons about the history of 9/11 Day. Beginning in 2016, MyGoodDeed started organizing its own, large-scale service projects in major cities. These events are known as 9/11 Day Meal Packs, where volunteers from local organizations and companies spend time during the day on 9/11 assembling non-perishable meals for people who are food insecure. MyGoodDeed typically partners with local volunteer service organizations and Feeding America-affiliated food banks to put on these events. In 2019, approximately 10,000 volunteers participated at eight 9/11 Day Meal Packs, assembling 3.1 million meals that were then donated to people in need. MyGoodDeed has said it plans to establish 9/11 Meal Packs in as many as 20 cities in time for the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2021.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cantor Fitzgerald</span> American financial services company

Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. is an American financial services firm that was founded in 1945. It specializes in institutional equity, fixed-income sales and trading, and serving the middle market with investment banking services, prime brokerage, and commercial real estate financing. It is also active in new businesses, including advisory and asset management services, gaming technology, and e-commerce. It has more than 5,000 institutional clients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rescue and recovery effort after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center</span>

The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center elicited a large response of local emergency and rescue personnel to assist in the evacuation of the two towers, resulting in a large loss of the same personnel when the towers collapsed. After the attacks, the media termed the World Trade Center site "Ground Zero", while rescue personnel referred to it as "the Pile".

A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organization, also known as a non-business entity, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in contrary with an entity that operates as a business aiming to generate a profit for its owners. A nonprofit is subject to the non-distribution constraint: any revenues that exceed expenses must be committed to the organization's purpose, not taken by private parties. An array of organizations are nonprofit, including some political organizations, schools, business associations, churches, social clubs, and consumer cooperatives. Nonprofit entities may seek approval from governments to be tax-exempt, and some may also qualify to receive tax-deductible contributions, but an entity may incorporate as a nonprofit entity without securing tax-exempt status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriot Day</span> United States public holiday commemorating the September 11 attacks on the United States.

In the United States, Patriot Day occurs on September 11 of each year in memory of the people killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Points of Light</span> American non-profit organization

Points of Light is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Georgia, United States dedicated to engaging more people and resources in solving serious social problems through voluntary service.

Laws regulating nonprofit organizations, nonprofit corporations, non-governmental organizations, and voluntary associations vary in different jurisdictions. They all play a critical role in addressing social, economic, and environmental issues. These organizations operate under specific legal frameworks that are regulated by the respective jurisdictions in which they operate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hands on Network</span>

The HandsOn Network was a non-profit organization focusing on community service based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. It sought to bring people together to strengthen communities through meaningful volunteer action, and mobilized some half million volunteers in communities inside and outside the United States. HandsOn Network created and managed nearly 50,000 projects a year, from building wheelchair ramps in San Francisco to teaching reading in Atlanta, to rebuilding homes and lives in Gulf Coast communities following Hurricane Katrina. Originally an independent organization, it became part of the nonprofit organization. The nonprofit was disbanded sometime in 2019.

Citizen Corps is a program under the Department of Homeland Security that provides training for the population of the United States to assist in the recovery after a disaster or terrorist attack. Each local Citizen Corps Council partners with organizations, volunteers and businesses to organize responders, volunteers and professional first responders for an efficient response so efforts are not wasted by being duplicated. By training in Incident Command, volunteers know whom to report to and how the incident is organized. This prevents sites from being inundated by untrained and unprepared personnel preventing operation. Citizen Corps also works in conjunction with the Corporation for National and Community Service in promoting national service opportunities for promoting homeland security needs.

A religious corporation is a type of religious non-profit organization, which has been incorporated under the law. Often these types of corporations are recognized under the law on a subnational level, for instance by a state or province government. The government agency responsible for regulating such corporations is usually the official holder of records, for instance, the Secretary of State. In the United States, religious corporations are formed like all other nonprofit corporations by filing articles of incorporation with the state. Religious corporation articles need to have the standard tax-exempt language the IRS requires. Religious corporations are permitted to designate a person to act in the capacity of corporation sole. This is a person who acts as the official holder of the title on the property, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VolunteerMatch</span> Digital non-profit organization

Impact Online, also known as VolunteerMatch, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization which provides a national digital infrastructure to serve volunteers and nonprofit organization in America. VolunteerMatch was founded in 1998.

Candid is an information service specializing in reporting on U.S. nonprofit companies. In 2016, its database provided information on 2.5 million organizations. It is the product of the February 2019 merger of GuideStar with Foundation Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day</span> American day of commemoration

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, also referred to as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day or Pearl Harbor Day, is observed annually in the United States on December 7, to remember and honor the 2,403 Americans who were killed in the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, which led to the United States declaring war on Japan the next day and thus entering World War II.

The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore (CFES) was established in 1984, and is located in Salisbury, Maryland. Its mission is to "To strengthen our community by connecting people who care with causes that matter to improve quality of life in our region" and its vision is for "...a community where all can live, learn, work, create and prosper". It serves the three lower counties of the Eastern Shore of Maryland: Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth Volunteer Corps</span>

Youth Volunteer Corps,(YVC), is a non-profit service organization operating throughout the United States and Canada that was created to introduce, encourage, and support the spirit of volunteerism in youth ages 11 to 18 through consistent, well-organized volunteer opportunities. It began in 1987 as a single organization in Kansas City, Missouri, sponsored by the Heart of America United Way and was funded by numerous public and private sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moveable Feast (organization)</span> Food providing nonprofit organization Baltimore, Maryland

Moveable Feast is a nonprofit organization based in Baltimore, Maryland, which provides food and services to individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and those afflicted with terminal illness. Its founder Baltimore City Health Department official Robert Mehl recognized a need in the community for such services during the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the United States. He assembled a committee at the direction of then-Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke, and the organization was founded in 1990. In its first year the organization's staff of three provided food and services to 60 clients biweekly and twice per day. By 2001 this had increased to attending to the nutrition needs of about 550 people in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Deeds Day</span>

Good Deeds Day is an annual international day of community service started in 2007 as an initiative of the Israel-based nonprofit organization Ruach Tova. The international day of volunteering started in 2007, its mission is to unite people from around the world in doing good deeds for others and the planet.

Buddhist Global Relief is an organization of socially engaged Buddhists with a mission to "combat chronic hunger and malnutrition". It was founded by Bhikkhu Bodhi in 2008.

National Philanthropy Day is an annual observance on November 15 that is designated by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) to celebrate charitable activities in the form of donated financial, in-kind, and volunteering support.

References

  1. About Us, 911day.org, published by MyGoodDeed, accessed July 20, 2016
  2. 11th National Day of Service and Remembrance, Serve.gov, published by the Corporation for National and Community Service, accessed July 20, 2016
  3. Day of Service and Remembrance 2011, Pointsoflight.org, published by the Points of Light Foundation, accessed July 20, 2016