‘Do good for others’: Volunteers across Utah remember 9/11 through service
Sep 7, 2024, 6:00 PM | Updated: Sep 9, 2024, 9:54 am
Youth from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Centerville South Stake pick weeds at Island View Park in Centerville, as part of the National Day of Service, Saturday. (Collin Leonard, KSL.com)
(Collin Leonard, KSL.com)
CENTERVILLE, Utah — Children and teens worked their way through the Centerville Cemetery and Island View Park, weeding, raking, hauling out trash and beautifying the area, just one of many community projects across the state Saturday,
The National Day of Service and Remembrance, which takes place on the the anniversary of the Sept.11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was established by the Legislature in April 2009, commonly observed in communities across the nation with acts of service.
Many of the young volunteers excitedly, and sometimes not so excitedly, got their hands dirty, while taking breaks at the nearby playground. A majority of them had not been born when the World Trade Center towers fell, and the day of service and remembrance is an attempt to bridge that gap, teaching a new generation about sacrifice, according to the parents working alongside their children.
The efforts are connected with the National Day of Service, which takes place every Sept. 11, where communities across the country do good deeds while remembering the tragic events of 2001.
“The greatest power that we have is to unite and to bring communities together, to do good for others. That’s something that the kids will remember always,” said Sean Cosper, who helped organize the Centerville cleanup for the youth of the Centerville South Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
The service event was held in collaboration with interfaith, volunteer, and community groups.
“By now, this is a tradition,” said Mitch Lamb, another organizer for the stake. “Every year we commemorate with doing service,” since before he can remember.
Schools, churches and community groups have organized many events for Saturday.
The Church of Jesus Christ was also hosting a suicide prevention walk and assembly of school kits for Jordan School District at Veterans Memorial Park in West Jordan on Saturday. In Heber City, church members are cleaning up the World War II Airport Museum, making sleeping mats for people experiencing homelessness and fleece blankets for the women’s correctional facility.
