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Publisher’s Note: It really is remarkable to consider how humanity’s worst savagery often inspires humanity’s best impulses. Not only did we see that dynamic unfold in real time on 9/11, as rescue workers raced toward danger, but we’ve also seen countless manifestations of this principle over the past 20 years. Examiner Editor-in-Chief Martin Wilbur reports on an example of the broader subject this afternoon as he writes about Westchester County’s annual 9/11: Serve + Remember. As everyone prepares to settle into their post-Labor Day posture in a couple weeks, it’s also worth thinking about how to best honor the memory of those we tragically lost two decades ago. “Never Forget” doesn’t need to be an empty platitude. It can be another way of saying “remember through service,” fulfilling Lincoln’s call to our better angels. —Adam Stone
By Martin Wilbur
Caption: A family volunteering together to make blankets for children in hospitals as part of last year’s 9/11: Serve + Remember day of service in New Rochelle. Residents will have a choice of two days to serve and help their communities during the weekend of Sept. 10-11.
It can be easy to overlook the collective sense of unity and purpose in the days, weeks, and months following the catastrophic September 11 terrorist attacks.
To honor those lost on one of the worst days in the nation’s history, Westchester County has once again scheduled its
annual 9/11: Serve + Remember, where local residents can dedicate a portion of their weekend on Sept. 10 and 11 by assisting their community and local organizations.
It is the 12th consecutive year that Westchester has partnered with Volunteer New York! an organization that coordinates efforts in the lower Hudson Valley year-round. Last year, more than 37,000 people put in about 388,000 hours of service, helping over 500 organizations through Volunteer New York!
“Each year, I can’t help but to reflect on the extraordinary effort of the 9/11 families who work so relentlessly to see September 11 dedicated as a national day of unity and of doing good,” said Volunteer New York! Executive Director Jeanette Gisbert. “For the past 12 years, Volunteer New York! has taken that national call to action and implemented a communitywide action day right in our communities in Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland with the opportunity to join thousands of individuals across the country to honor the memories of those lost on 9/11.”
With the 21st anniversary of Sept. 11 on a Sunday this year, the weekend will be divided into two parts, Gisbert said. On Saturday, Sept. 10, there will be 16 on-site projects at communities throughout the region that will assist a variety of nonprofit organizations.
Some of the local opportunities include fall prep and bulb planting with A-HOME in Chappaqua; clean-up at Croton Point Park; helping to pack food bags at the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry; a painting and revitalization project with the United Way in White Plains; and a community residence beautification project with Westchester Jewish Community Services in Sleepy Hollow.
On Sunday, projects will be located at two hubs – the Shames JCC on the Hudson in Tarrytown and Iona University in New Rochelle. Volunteers can create blankets for children in hospitals, participate in a laundry sachet assembly project for women in YMCA residences and create pull toys for shelter dogs.
All the activities are suitable for families to participate, Gisbert said.
“This is a day we must always remember, and so 9/11: Serve + Remember is an opportunity to pause and do a good deed, to make a difference, to remember how thousands came together helping each other through tragedy,” Gisbert said.
County Executive George Latimer said the annual day of service is a chance for everyone to take stock and to make one’s own community a better place.
“This is a great time to reconnect, to become part of a volunteer effort with other people, and you find strength in that with other people toward a common purpose,” Latimer said.
The major sponsor for 9/11: Remember + Serve is Robison Oil. Other sponsors include Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts, Levitt-Fuirst, Webster Bank, and 95.5 K-LOVE/96.7 Air1.
For more information and registration for the complete list of projects and the times and locations, contact Volunteer New York! At 914-948-4452 or visit www.volunteernewyork.org/service.
Martin Wilbur is the Editor-in-Chief of Examiner News. He has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been Editor-in-Chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007.
Prior to that, he spent nine years as assistant editor at the former North County News in Yorktown Heights and also worked for the Daily Racing Form, the Reporter Dispatch in Putnam County, and Courier-Life Publications in his native Brooklyn. He has been honored by the New York Press Association with statewide awards for news reporting, sports features, and editorial writing.
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