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US marks 9/11 by doing "good deeds"
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-12 09:41
NO GOOD DEED IS TOO SMALL Designating Sept. 11 as a national service day was the brainchild of Jay Winuk, whose brother Glenn rushed to the scene of the World Trade Center from his apartment in Manhattan, New York, to aid the evacuation on Sept. 11, 2001, and died when the twin towers collapsed. The actions of volunteers from around the country after the 9/11 attacks inspired Winuk and his friend, David Paine, to confounded in 2002 a nonprofit organization called MyGood Deed to encourage people to undertake service projects. Since then MyGood Deed had been working to establish the national service day as a way to honor those who died in the 9/11 attacks. "The anniversary of 9/11 is always a very personal day of sadness and reflection for me and my family, but it can also be a day when the nation comes together to embrace once more the spirit of compassion that helped our family and the entire 9/11 community see us through the very dark days following the attacks," Winuk said recently. After taking office in January, U.S. President Barack Obama embraced the idea and signed a legislation in April to establish the Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. Winuk said "no good deed is too small" and anyone who wants to give back on 9/11 or any day of the year can do so. "We believe that even a small gesture - a single good deed - is all it takes to make a difference," he said. On Thursday, Obama issued a message to all Americans, calling upon them to "join in service and honor the lives we lost, the heroes who responded in our hour of need." "The National Day of Service and Remembrance is an opportunity to salute the heroes of 9/11, recapture the spirit of unity and compassion that inspired our nation following the attacks, and rededicate ourselves to sustained service to our communities," he said.
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