Remembering 9/11: We Unite and Serve
6:30 a.m. Dave arrives at our Union Avenue office in Memphis on September 11, 2001.
Dave has been a member of the team now for 20 years. On this day, however, he had only been Director, Communications for a few years.
He was preparing last minute press releases and sending faxes to media contacts for our upcoming annual Day of Caring event on the 14th. Day of Caring was an opportunity for hundreds of volunteers dispatched by our corporate partners like FedEx to perform service projects at our member agencies like Friends for Life and Boys and Girls Club.
“We were used to operating in crisis mode for this particular event, ensuring logistics, operations and communications flowed smooth,” said Dave. “This was the biggest volunteer event in the city and the Mid-South and it was known for making a large impact.”
8:45 a.m. — American Airline Flight 11 out of Boston, Massachusetts, crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. Dave, who spent his career in media, stood frozen in front of the lobby television after first seeing the news online.
“The world came to a halt,” said Dave. “That image, that footage was ingrained in my brain for the rest of my life.”
9:03 a.m. — A second plane crashed into the south tower of the WTC. Also our of Boston.
Day of Caring took a backseat as a member of Dave’s team paced the office. Her husband had boarded a flight to Pennsylvania at 6:00 a.m. that same morning. She could not reach him.
“She was frantic as anyone would be. She wasn’t trying to hear me or anyone else on staff. Not even our CEO. She needed to hear her husband’s voice, and the longer it took for him to return her phone calls, the more frantic she became.” (He eventually called and reported he landed safely in PA).
9:43 a.m. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon.
10:30 a.m. — While discussing whether or not to cancel Day of Caring, a member of the FedEx team reached out to United Way, encouraging us to continue with Day of Caring. Those who had previously registered to volunteer believed the greatest way to stand against terrorism and violence against our country was through service.
“Since then, we have volunteers who habitually return for Day of Caring, recalling both the despair of that day with the hope of tomorrow,” said Dave. “It was the landmark of United Way of the Mid-South: we serve and unite through adversity.”
Today, we honor the brave men and women who risked and lost their lives on September 11 with continued service towards our most vulnerable. This United Way believes as a community, we can stand against all terrorism, injustice, and hate when we unite and serve.
This year — because of the overwhelming need and demand — United Way expands from one day to Days of Caring, one full week of service projects. “Days of Caring is our largest volunteerism impact event of the year,” said Lori Spicer Robertson, Chief, Communications and Engagement Officer at United Way of the Mid-South. “With a greater need to accelerate impact in this community and for extra hands and care, our goal is to make it easier to serve with a variety of days, times, and projects that need volunteers.”
The Block Party will have music, a BBQ food truck, Mempops and a special appearance from The Memphis Redbirds organization. The Block Party is located at 1005 Tillman, Memphis, TN, 38112 and is free and open to the public and all Days of Caring volunteers.
For those interested in volunteering for Days of Caring can sign up by visiting www.uwmidsouth.org/volunteer.
