Remember, Reflect Through Day Of Service

An obscure September day became the most infamous in American history when terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center towers, and the Pentagon, and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.

That day marks the worst terrorist act our nation has ever seen, the loss of more than 3,000 lives and a wound that even eight years later has barely begun to heal. We believe that a huge step toward healing lies in service to others and by actively celebrating today as a National Day of Service and Remembrance – a day of volunteer service to others and reflection for those who were lost.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine issued a proclamation Wednesday declaring today a Day of Service and Remembrance in Virginia and asking citizens to find ways to honor those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, by doing volunteer work in their communities. He also noted that today is the end of the summer phase of the national United We Serve initiative, which aims to put people on a path of long-term volunteer service in their communities.

Service agencies are building and repairing homes and need your strength. Food banks are feeding your neighbors. Blood banks need your donations so people in your community can have life-saving surgery.

Libraries need eager readers. Nursing homes need visitors who care. And any group that tries to help others could use your dollars, if you have some to spare.

Hundreds of volunteer needs in Virginia are posted to the http://www.serve.gov site, and interested people can search on the site by keyword and zip code. We urge interested citizens to develop their own projects based on their interests and skills and work with others locally to develop future service projects.

The Greater Bristol Chapter of AARP is joining today’s National Day of Service and Remembrance by visiting the King’s Mountain Supportive Housing facility on State Street and delivering items that can be used by the residents there. It is one small local event planned today to help others who certainly need and appreciate it.

It is estimated that Virginians gave more than 215 million hours to volunteer and community causes last year. As we mark the eighth anniversary of these gruesome acts of terror, we encourage everyone to focus on lifting up their communities.

It is an important way to celebrate our resiliency and to keep working on making our neighborhoods and our nation stronger.