How to Participate in the 9/11 National Day of Service

Twenty-one years ago, America changed forever when 2,977 people were killed in terrorist attacks.

To honor the victims, every year around 9/11, people living in the United States and Canada are invited to participate in the National Day of Service and Remembrance. This year, with September 11 falling on a Sunday, the day of service is Saturday, September 10.

JustServe.org is one of nearly 100 organizations that work with 9/11 Day to organize community and interfaith service projects and volunteer opportunities.

Everyone is invited to join a service project on JustServe on or after September 10, 2022, to help make the world a brighter place. The following are ideas from JustServe.org.

• Make thank you cards for first responders.
• Give a flower to a veteran.
• Donate blood.
• Participate in a local park cleanup.
• Make refugee kits: kids kits, teen kits, laundry kits, etc.
• Send a letter to a deployed soldier.
• Walk a neighbor’s dog.
• Do yard work for a friend or neighbor.
• Wash the dishes for someone.
• Send a card to a resident of an assisted living facility
• Donate to a food pantry.
• Call an elderly friend or family member to talk.
• Offer to babysit a friend.
• Make a fleece blanket for a child in foster care.

Many other ideas can be found at JustServe.org or on the free JustServe app. People can find local service projects, volunteer remotely, or post a service opportunity. Many stakes have organized their own service projects and have been advertising those opportunities and needs to ward members.

“We establish a foundation of unity for our nation as we honor those who lost their lives on this day,” explained a JustServe post on Instagram. “Through service, we can help heal hearts and strengthen our communities.”

JustServe anniversary

JustServe celebrates its 11th anniversary this week, but its roots go back to 2006.

At the time, President M. Russell Ballard, now Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was the chairman of the Church’s Missionary Executive Committee. Elder Richard J. Maynes, now a General Authority Emeritus, was also on the committee.

The two men and several others recognized the need to help missionaries find ways to serve in their communities during the day. The missionaries were eager to serve, but they didn’t know where to start.

“JustServe was the key for missionaries to find service opportunities in their assigned communities,” Elder Maynes told the Church News in 2020.

Elder William Price and Sister Sidney Price were called to help start the JustServe online initiative in 2011. As of early 2012, a JustServe pilot program was underway in the California San Jose Mission, and many others were soon added. missions.

JustServe.org was to have only one component: Christian service to neighbors.

“It’s service for service’s sake,” Elder Maynes said. “It’s an opportunity to build relationships.”

Service can change the world

President Ballard has often spoken of the profound blessings and necessity of service. In his October 2012 general conference address, “Eagerly Engage,” he said, “Imagine the good we can do in the world if we all come together, united as followers of Christ, eagerly and diligently responding to the needs of others.” and serving others. those around us. … What would be the cumulative effect of millions of small compassionate acts performed daily by us because of our sincere Christian love for others?

This week, President Ballard posted a message on social media about how mutual service can bring peace of mind and happiness in a world of uncertainty, complexity, and confusion.

“Great things are accomplished through simple and small acts of kindness and service,” President Ballard wrote. “They will accumulate in a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another.”