One Days Pay Can Make A Difference

Would you volunteer for just a day to honor the lives lost in the September 11 attacks?
That is the question asked by "One Day’s Pay," a nonprofit grassroots movement seeking to establish September 11 as a voluntary day of service, charity and compassion. And already their commendable efforts are paying off. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers have already taken the "One Day’s Pay" pledge to observe 9/11 as a day of voluntary service, and they leave it up to the individual volunteer to decide what form their efforts will take.
Working in association with the Families of 9/11 and New York Cares, the spirit of the "One Day’s Pay" movement is that you set aside time around September 11 to do community service to honor the memory of those lost.
Colleen Farell, Senior Director of Communications at New York Cares, told The Queens Courier, "The One Days Pay group approached us to help organize this event because of our history as a volunteer group. In Queens were organizing child education projects, were working with seniors, were painting schools in Astoria and were revitalizing the Macintosh Garden in East Elmhurst. All of these volunteer posts are available almost year round, and if a person wants to spend just a day helping out to commemorate 9/11 they will be made very welcome."
The "One Day’s Pay" initiative, to encourage people to annually "give back to the community at least a day’s payment of service," drew an estimated one million participants last year. The group hopes to more than double that figure in September 2004.
"I feel certain that, when it comes to how best to mark September 11, the 9/11 families and their representative organizations are of one mind," said Nikki Stern, executive director of Families of September 11. "We believe the best way for the nation to pay tribute to those lives lost and to honor the spirit and the unity of the days that followed September 11 is to mark the day not as a traditional holiday but as a day of service."
Currently, volunteers are needed for projects in Queens and also to help guide participants, family members, and the general public around the perimeter of the 9/11 Commemoration site. Volunteers will also be checking in family members. The organizers remind potential volunteers that this will be an emotional event, a suggestion to keep in mind before committing to the project. To be considered for this project, visit the New York Cares website, located at www.nycares.org.
New York Cares is offering a special orientation for Queens residents who’d like to volunteer with them on Thursday September 9 at LaGuardia Community College from 6 pm until 7 pm.