Sept. 11 to be Remembered With North Shore Day of Service

The 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania will be a day of service and remembrance across the North Shore.

The event is being organized locally by the North Shore United Way in an effort “to reignite that same spirit of unity and compassion that sprung up” across the country after the attacks in 2001.

“There is a national movement to reclaim this day for good,” the United Way said in an announcement of the day’s activities.

A dozen teams consisting of about 100 people with join with “local partner organizations” to undertake charitable acts at eight different locations on the North Shore, including at Northeast Arc in Danvers and at Harborlight Community Partners residences and at the Beverly Senior Center in Beverly.

At the end of the day, the volunteers who took part in the day of service and remembrance will take part in a service at the Endicott College amphitheater at 5 p.m. followed by a barbecue and softball game. Then Endicott students will light up the Beverly-Salem bridge starting at 8 p.m. The event is open to the public - just show up and you will be provided with a candle.

Other people may volunteer on Thursday in a less formal way and the North Shore United Way website provides plenty of volunteers opportunities.

“Do something to improve the lives of others on that day and you will be serving in solidarity with your neighbors across the North Shore and across the country,” the North Shore said in announcing the event. “Your contribution means something to those who lost loved ones that day.”

In addition to the Beverly Council on Aging, Endicott College, Harborlight Community Partners and Northeast Arc, some of the other companies and non-profits taking part in the day of service are Bank of America, Beverly Bank, blueswirls.com, the Hamilton-Wenham Rotary Club, People’s United Bank and Windover Development.