September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks (also referred to as 9/11) were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, and caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. Additional people died of 9/11-related cancer and respiratory diseases in the months and years following the attacks.
September 11 National Day of Service
According to the nonprofit MyGoodDeed, which founded the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance ("9/11 Day") in 2002, the goal of "9/11 Day" is "to keep alive the spirit of unity and compassion that arose in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks in tribute to the individuals lost and injured in the attacks, and the many who rose in service in response." The idea of making September 11 an annual day of service was first conceived in the winter of 2001 by David Paine, a former marketing executive from New York City. In the Spring of 2002 David was joined by his friend Jay Winuk, who had lost his brother Glenn Winuk in the attacks at the World Trade Center, and together they formed the nonprofit group called One Day's Pay. In 2007, the name of the organization was officially changed to MyGoodDeed. In 2009, MyGoodDeed successfully led an effort to designate September 11 under federal law as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, which occurred as part of passage of the bipartisan Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act by the United States Congress, and later, by an amendment to the Patriot Day Presidential Proclamation by President Barack Obama, which formally recognized and established September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act authorized the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), a federal agency, to assist the 9/11 community in building awareness of and support for "9/11 Day" through its national service programs. In 2011, on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, MyGoodDeed, CNCS and the Points of Light Institute/HandsOn Network joined together to organize the largest day of charitable service in U.S. history, with more than 32 million Americans participating, according to research conducted by Horizon Consumer Science on behalf of MyGoodDeed. Today, 9/11 Day continues to engage nearly 30 million Americans annually in various forms of charitable service, including volunteering, donations to charities, and simple good deeds.