This year, September 11 fell on a Thursday, and Oneida County opted to spread the service out across the week in order to allow as many people to participate as possible.  Across the various projects underway throughout the valley, scores of people turned out to aid in a variety of community support and beautification projects.  From cleanup projects to park beautification, food collection, and even writing to missionaries, events of the week proved the truth of the expression “many hands make light work.”

On both the weekend before and the weekend of the Day of Service, groups helped spread mulch and landscape the city park.  The walking path is one of Malad’s gems, and the trees that surround it require a lot of maintenance and care, which is what they were given under the direction of Trevor Robbins.  A large quantity of mulch was purchased in compact cubes that seem to never stop giving once they are opened up! 

Downtown, Nicona Smith and Tori Green joined Mayor Joan Hawkins and many others to cleanup the downtown streets and beautify the flowerpots and trees lining the streets and other areas.  Limbs were trimmed and debris and clutter removed to give the streets a bit of a makeover.

Samaria was in a preservation and staining mode as well, as volunteers converged on Heritage Square to apply weatherizing and beautification coats to many of the buildings.  The recent Osmond family reunion started into some of the same projects, but there is never really an end of what can be done to preserve Samaria’s historic cabins and buildings.  The town dove in for the Day of Service, and the results look fantastic.

On Friday, the Stake Center near St John was the site of a church-based event for the youth of the area.  A number of adult volunteers helped to organize two primary service activities.  One of them was the writing of letters to missionaries in the field.  Even though today’s missionaries don’t face the same communication restrictions that are well-remembered by those of a certain age, there is no one who doesn’t appreciate a handwritten letter or hand-drawn picture while out far from home performing their own service.

The other primary service activity involved creating sets of school supplies to be used by students within the local school system.  There are often shortages of school supplies for a variety of reasons, and the primary kids worked to ensure that there would not be anyone in Malad School District 351 who did not have access to the needed supplies.

In addition to those two projects, kids also painted rocks to be placed around time in order to make everyone’s days a little bit more colorful and magical.  Games and music were also participated in by the dozens of kids who were at the stake center learning to serve.

As in other years, one of the primary points of focus for the Day of Service was collecting food for Carol’s Pantry, Oneida County’s primary food security storehouse.  Food was collected from around Oneida County in the lead-up to Saturday’s delivery to the pantry, sorted at the Victory Baptist Church by a veritable army of helpers, and then taken out to the Crisis Center to be stocked on the shelves of the pantry.  Fall is the beginning of the largest need season for families with regard to food supplies, and the food drive is right on time to help supplement the regular donations throughout the year.  Once again, there were countless members of the community on hand to help out.  

Toni Werk with the Interfaith Council noted that “Interfaith Council hosted the Food Drive for the Crisis Center Carol’s Pantry.  Oneida County Youth Groups collected non-perishable goods through out their neighborhoods and delivered them to the Victory Baptist Church on South Main.”

She further explained that “a team of great Christians, both young and old, about 45 in number sorted the items by date and type, boxed them and delivered them to the Crisis Center.  Since the Crisis Center cannot accept out dated items, many were set aside for other programs through the Baptist Church. 

Many outstanding youth volunteers made short work on the sorting and followed through the transfer to the Crisis Center. And, they stayed at the Crisis Center to unbox and stock the shelves!

Although not as many items were received this year, the volunteers did an amazing job. The Crisis Center could use jams and oatmeal . Also cash donations may be placed in the jars on the check out counters at Broulims Market.”

The National Day of Service and Remembrance was originally founded by the non-profit MyGoodDeed as a way of honoring the memories of those who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as keeping the spirit of service that followed alive within the country.  “We wanted to make sure the terrorists didn’t have the last word in forever defining for generations how Americans would remember and observe 9/11,” said MyGoodDeed co-founder David Paine.  The Day was officially recognized by a bipartisan act of Congress in 2009, and has gained prominence and participation each year since then.  

Many organizations, including JustServe.org and others, have promoted the observation of the day in an organized manner.  Oneida County has followed suit, and the various leaders of the projects undertaken on the day coordinate with others to make the event as large and productive as possible.

Many individuals also observe the day on their own time, and use the day as a time to help their neighbors, their families, and their communities with projects that need doing.  In addition to being a good motivation to finish or undertake projects in need of completion, the Day of Service and Remembrance also has the mission of increasing the ties that bind communities together, and fostering a shared sense of effort and connection.  In that sense, the Day of Service has been a remarkable success. 

 Each of the projects involved in the county saw volunteers from across all age rages—from those just old enough to carry a small branch to a trailer to those with decades of experience—as well as backgrounds, faiths, professions, etc.   Oftentimes, especially after the school year gets going with its attendant scheduling issues, the hectic movement from place to place and activity to activity can create a sense of fragmentation and isolation. Many people have just enough time and energy to think about whatever it is they have to do right then.  A week like last one really allows for a shift in perspective, a way to recalibrate to the larger picture of what’s going on in the larger community and even the country as a whole.

While it has never been billed as a relaxing day, the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance has certainly become a day that has the potential to rekindle people’s sense of belonging to a community that is larger than themselves, and working together to make it the best community possible.