ATLANTA – Sept. 7, 2011 – One of the goals of the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance is to create a permanent and positive legacy rekindling the spirit of unity that existed immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, and honoring the 9/11 victims, heroes and all those who rose in service in response to the terrorist attacks that changed our nation.
To accomplish this, HandsOn Network, the volunteer arm of Points of Light Institute, and its local affiliates have partnered with 9/11 Day nonprofit MyGoodDeed to provide expertise in volunteer mobilization, equipping partners with tools and funding to create service projects to address challenges in their communities. Four leadership cities are expected to engage nearly 20,000 volunteers in various projects including:
Boston: Boston Cares will lead volunteers in the preparation of care packages for active duty service members and their families, blood drives to engage new donors and the assembly of cots and other supplies for use at emergency evacuation shelters
New York City: New York Cares will focus its efforts on the Lower East Side, including the revitalization of P.S. 140, preparation of emergency preparedness kits for neighborhood residents, planting a neighborhood garden and providing services to local seniors and immigrants.
San Francisco: HandsOn Bay Area is partnering with the local American Legion of San Francisco and the office of the mayor to engage volunteers in citywide projects such as urban farming, disaster preparedness training and renovations of homeless shelters
Washington, D.C.: HandsOn Greater DC Cares will host a citywide volunteer recruitment and service event in Freedom Park that will allow volunteers to engage in “mobile service projects” and sign up for long-term commitments to local nonprofits’ efforts
HandsOn Network affiliates will lead service projects in 18 signature sites, each expected to engage 1,000 or more volunteers. Projects include:
Chicago Cares: Refurbishing schools in low-income areas in partnership with the Chicago White Sox
Greater Philadelphia Cares: Fireman’s Tribute Walk will honor first responders
HandsOn Birmingham: Free showing of the documentary “New York Says Thank You” for local firemen, police officers and their families in the local Imax Theater
HandsOn Central Ohio (Columbus): Organizing “Cops and Kids Day” for children and families to meet local police officers and learn about safety and disaster preparedness
HandsOn Charlotte: Building a park in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood
HandsOn Northeast Ohio (Cleveland): Writing thank you cards to troops, assembling mini-disaster preparedness kits and signing a “thank you wall” for local fire and police officers
HandsOn Greater Phoenix: Building a community playground next to Fire Station 218, stuffing and passing out fire safety information and hosting a disaster preparedness fair
HandsOn Richmond: Refurbishing five city fire stations, partnering with the Red Cross to provide first aid training and hosting a memorial service with city officials and first responders
HandsOn River Region (Montgomery, Ala.): Disaster training and community education, safety training and multiple family friendly service projects
HandsOn South Alabama (Mobile): Three days of service focused on local first responders and military personnel
HandsOn Twin Cities: Beautifying memorials to fallen soldiers, creating memorial gardens and supporting those affected by recent natural disasters
Jersey Cares: Painting patriotic-themed murals, building 9/11 memorial gardens and connecting with veterans through Life Stories Memoirs projects
LA Works: Transforming an airplane hangar into a welcome center for Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum
OneOC (Orange County, Calif.): Giving homeless and low-income veterans and their families access to basic services, hosting volunteer outreach events and community beautification projects
United Way of Greater St. Louis: Beautifying and improving East St. Louis High School and the surrounding community with local veterans and AmeriCorps Alumni members
Volunteer Broward (Florida): Multiple service projects including food bank food sorting, beautification of a homeless shelter, park and beach
Volunteer Center of Greensboro: Hosting family-friendly service activities in tribute to servicemen
Volunteer Macon (Georgia): Designing and planting a community garden and erecting a flagpole in honor of those lost in the Sept. 11 attacks and first responders
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About 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance
The 9/11 nonprofit MyGoodDeed and HandsOn Network, the volunteer activation division of Points of Light Institute, have joined together to encourage all Americans to commemorate the anniversary of Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, leading the efforts to inspire one million acts of charitable service in tribute to the victims, survivors and those who rose to service in response to the attacks 10 years ago.
About Points of Light Institute
Points of Light Institute inspires, equips and mobilizes people to take action that changes the world. We connect people to their power to make a meaningful difference. We are organized to innovate, incubate and activate new ideas that help 21st century volunteers use all of their assets – their time, talent, voice and money – to meet the critical needs of our time. Points of Light Institute operates multiple divisions including: HandsOn Network, the largest volunteer network in the world with 250 local affiliates; generationOn, the global youth service division that ignites the power of kids to make their mark on the world; and AmeriCorps Alums, a network of more than 120,000 experienced volunteer leaders. For more information, visit www.pointsoflight.org.
About HandsOn Network
The volunteer-activation division of Points of Light Institute, Hands on Network includes 250 community action centers that deliver 30 million hours of volunteer service each year and extend to 16 countries around the world. These centers focus on helping people plug into volunteer opportunities in their local communities, partnering with more than 70,000 corporate, faith and nonprofit organizations to manage volunteer resources, and developing the leadership capacity of volunteers. Annually, the network delivers approximately 30 million hours of volunteer service valued at $626 million. For more information, please visit www.HandsOnNetwork.org.
We put people at the center of change.