Honor those lost on 9/11 by volunteering

Serve Washington’s Executive Director, Amber Martin-Jahn, shares a call to action for all Washingtonians to volunteer on Sept. 11.

The Sept. 11 National Day of Service is coming up. How will you serve?

Most of us can remember where we were during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the outpouring of unity that followed.

People everywhere stepped up to honor the families of those lost. They donated resources to organizations helping families directly impacted by the attacks. They gathered in parks for candlelit vigils. They showed kindness to neighbors. People of all ages and backgrounds performed formal and informal acts of volunteerism to help communities thrive and to remember the lives of those who died or were injured that day.

AmeriCorps has played a key role in making sure that legacy of remembrance through service continues. AmeriCorps joined families and first responders impacted by the 2001 terrorist attacks to ask lawmakers to make Sept. 11 a National Day of Service. Congress did so in 2009 with the enactment of the Serve America Act. It encourages everyone in America to engage in an act of service on that day.

Serve Washington is the commission on national and community service and the state agency that administers grants that help make AmeriCorps programs possible in Washington.  Our mission includes advancing all types of national service, volunteerism and civic engagement. As its executive director, I encourage you to take a moment to participate in an act of service on or around Sept. 11, too.

Day of service projects can include organizing food drives, doing community cleanups or helping friends and family members make disaster preparedness plans in their neighborhoods. In many areas, people will be honoring veterans, military service members and first responders.

AmeriCorps members serving at the Port Angeles School District, for example, will be holding a candlelight vigil starting at 9:11 a.m. at the 9/11 Memorial Waterfront Park in Port Angeles. Local law enforcement will do a flag raising and remembrance ceremony at noon.

Serve Washington has a free, online Get Connected tool you can use to find Day of Service or ongoing volunteer opportunities in your community.  AmeriCorps and 911 Day.org have list of project ideas that you can lead in your communities. Be sure to check out sites like VolunteerMatch and check in with local volunteer centers for opportunities you can join.

Another way you can honor families impacted by 9/11 is by volunteering to serve on a Community Emergency Response Team, CERT.  CERT volunteers learn basic disaster response skills, including team organization, fire safety and light search and rescue. They can provide assistance to survivors when first responders might not be immediately available after a disaster. They can also help with activities that teach people to be prepared for hazards that can happen in their communities. Serve Washington helps ensure local CERTs meet state credentialing requirements. Visit FEMA’s website to find a CERT program near you.

This by no means highlights every way you can remember and honor those lost on Sept. 11, 2001, but I hope the work of Serve Washington motivates and inspires you to serve your community in your own way.

Amber Martin-Jahn, Executive Director, Serve Washington

Related: Read Serve Washington's Sept. 1, 2023 Letter to the Editor in the Seattle Times: Remembrance through service