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United Way Blog

On 9/11, Even the Smallest Act of Service

"Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11," said President Barack Obama on the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

September 11th is a day for remembering, and for serving. Designated by Congress as the National Day of Service and Remembrance, September 11th has become a day of engaging in charitable service as a way to honor the 9/11 victims, survivors, and those who rose up in service in response to the attacks. On 9/11 and every day, committing to even the smallest act of service is what United Way means when we ask you to LIVE UNITED.

Many United Ways are organizing service activities for the Day of Service and Remembrance. For example in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Capital Area United Way and BASF have teamed up to engage the local community to honor those in the Armed Forces and many local first responders. Community members can join United Way and BASF volunteers to write notes of appreciation to local first responders, assemble care packages for men and women serving in the military, and view and discuss a film about first reponders, New York Says Thank You. 

Volunteer service is a way to honor and to remember, and it is also a way to make our nation stronger. When we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all. We build the strength of our neighborhoods. We bolster the health of our communities.

You can join your local United Way in service on 9/11 or most any day of the year. Helping keep kids in school is a way to make our stronger, and you can do that by pledging to become a volunteer reader, tutor or mentor. Or you can simply pledge to perform a good deed on 9/11. And if we do this, said President Obama, “It will be said of us that we kept that faith; that we took a painful blow, and emerged stronger.”