Serve your community on 9/11

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

In the days, weeks, and months following the attacks on our nation, people in the United States and allied nations volunteered to help support the rescue and recovery efforts. People of all ages and backgrounds gathered for candlelight vigils, showed kindness to neighbors and preformed formal and informal acts of volunteerism to honor those who lost their lives lost and demonstrate that what unites us is greater than what divides us.

In 2009, AmeriCorps joined families who lost loved ones during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in making Sept. 11 a National Day of Service. This day encourages all people in America to continue honoring those who died or were injured on Sept. 11, 2001 through acts of service and volunteerism.

Serve Washington is the commission on national and community service. Our major responsibility is to advance all types of national service, volunteerism and civic engagement and make service part of the lives of all Washingtonians.

As Serve Washington’s executive director, I encourage you to take a moment to participate in an act of service on Sept. 11.

Find a project near you

Serve Washington has a tool called Get Connected you can use to search for volunteer opportunities. You can filter results by duration, ability, location, interest and more.

AmeriCorps has created a list of project ideas and tips for organizing service projects.

Just Serve has a database you can use to search for organizations hosting service projects within your zip code. They also have a list of project ideas that you can do on your own such as making pantry bags for a local food bank, writing letters to seniors in care facilities or to military service members or picking up litter at a park other public space.

Learn about 9/11

Most adults remember where they were and what they were doing when they first learned about the events of Sept. 11, 2001. However, there are a growing number of people who were not alive on 9/11, or too young to have any memories of the day. The website 911day has resources for teachers and parents to help children learn about Sept. 11, 2001, including videos, sample lesson plans a toolkit to engage them in doing good deeds for 9/11 Day.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is also streaming a film commemorating the 23rd anniversary 9/11 followed by a live chat on Sept. 11

Prepare your community for emergencies

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 aid 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 and help interested volunteers connect to CERTs in their area.

Visit our CERT page to learn how Serve Washington supports CERT. Visit FEMA’s website to find a CERT training program near you.

Share your service experience

Serve Washington is inviting you to share your 9/11 volunteer experience to inspire others to serve.

You can upload photos and text or record a short video telling us about how you will serve on the 9/11 Day of Service through our new submission portal. You can also tag us with photos and reflections from your service experience on Facebook, Instagram or X.

As the 9/11 Day of Service approaches, we are reminded that service can be a uniting force. When people connect through service, they can find common connections and create space for meaningful conversations and learning while helping communities address challenges.

These resources by no means highlight every way you can honor and remember those we lost on Sept. 11, 2001.  But we hope the work of Serve Washington and volunteers across the country motivates and inspires you to serve your community in your own way.

In Service,

Trish Almond

Executive Director, Serve Washington