9/11 Day

A few months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a small group of 9/11 family members and friends met to talk about how best to pay tribute to their lost loved ones. They decided that the terrorists shouldn’t "have the last word" in defining how America remembers 9/11 each year. Inspired instead by the way the country came together in the weeks following the attacks and the national outpouring of support, the group launched the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance, widely known today at 9/11 Day , with the goal of "taking back the day" and gradually transforming the anniversary of 9/11 from a day of tragedy into a day of doing good. In 2009, the U.S. Congress and president formally recognized the anniversary of 9/11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance under federal law. The founders had a simple idea: Ask all Americans to do one good deed on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in tribute to 9/11 victims, first responders, recovery workers, military, those injured and others impacted by 9/11 terrorist attacks. Today, that little idea has grown into the largest annual day of service in the nation, an extraordinary transformation.