Charity Turns 9/11 Anniversary Into Day of Service, Not Sadness
*By Conor White*
For most, September 11 is a day of reflection and remembrance to honor those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks 17 years ago.
Jay Winuk is one such observer; he lost his brother Glen, a 20-year volunteer firefighter, after he rushed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan to help those inside.
One year after the attacks, Winuk co-founded 9/11 Day, now federally-recognized, to remember his brother and the nearly 3,000 others whose lives abruptly ended in 2001.
"Glen and so many others really sacrificed a lot," Winuk said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar. "But if we can make the world a little bit better for those in need each 9/11, that'd be a pretty good way to remember the day."
9/11 Day encourages people to volunteer, support charities, and perform simple good deeds. After starting out as a grassroots movement, Tuesday's event will see nearly 30 million people participate across the country.
"We hope this becomes ubiquitous," Winuk said. "\[September 11th is\] not a holiday, it's an observance."
In New York alone, 850,000 meals will be assembled for hungry residents. Meals will also be packed for the hungry in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco.
9/11 Day and the non-profit behind it, MyGoodDeed, also provides teachers and students with learning materials about September 11th to teach them about the good carried out by responders.
"All of us who lived through 9/11, at some point, we're not going to be here, so we wanted to establish an observance where people have the opportunity to learn the other side of 9/11," Winuk said.
"If they learn only about the attacks and not how good people of the world responded, then we've lost an opportunity."
For more information, visit [911Day.org](https://www.911day.org/).
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/finding-light-on-the-darkest-day).
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
BTS’ hit single “Butter” tops the zeitgeist again, bumping back up to number one on Billboard’s Hot Trending Chart. The chart tracks what songs people are talking about rather than what they're listening to.
The American Red Cross has declared its first-ever "national blood crisis" in the United States. Since COVID hit the U.S. in March 2020, blood donations have declined by 10 percent. American Red Cross Medical Director, Dr. Baia Lasky joined Cheddar News to discuss the country facing the worst blood shortage in over a decade. Dr. Lasky noted that as much as 40 percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood but only about 4 percent do so. "This is going to be ongoing," she said. "This is not an acute shortage. We really do need the commitment of people to come out and donate and donate again." Appointments to donate can be made by using the Red Cross Donor App, at RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
On this episode of ChedHER: Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE breaks down how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses; AYO Foods Co-Founder discusses how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of; Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer at Chase Auto talks her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry, and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Renée Horne, chief marketing and customer experience officer at Chase Auto, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Perteet Spencer, Co-Founder of AYO Foods, joins ChedHER to discuss how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of.
Crystal Etienne, Founder and CEO of period apparel company Ruby Love and Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience bootstrapping her company to $10 million, and how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses.
