Our 9/11 Day of Service project includes two main components: a cleanup of Great Lakes National Cemetery and recording stories and reflections of the events of September 11. This project will include AmeriCorps members, AmeriCorps Seniors, veterans and their families, State of Michigan employees, and community members. The purpose of this project is to help honor and remember those who served our country, reflect on the meaning of this Day of Service, to share these reflections with the community through a podcast hosted by some of our AmeriCorps members, and to create a historical record of these reflections for future generations. Located approximately 15 minutes north of Flint, Great Lakes National Cemetery is the second national cemetery built in Michigan and the 122nd in the national cemetery system. Historically, the property served as farmland until it was acquired by the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) in 2002. The NCA provides burial space for Veterans and their eligible family members, and maintains national cemeteries as national shrines, sacred to the honor and memory of those interred or memorialized there. To help honor and remember those who served our country, participants in this Day of Service will clean headstones, remove debris, and beautify cemetery grounds. By spending this Day of Service in the National Cemetery honoring Veterans, project participants will have the opportunity to reflect on the events of September 11th, 2001. As part of this reflection, we want to record participants’ memories of September 11, 2001, and their thoughts on the meaning of this Day of Service. As time passes, memories fade, and some of our AmeriCorps members may be too young to remember that day (or weren’t even born yet). Members at one of our host sites teach young people how to use a multimedia lab and host a community podcast as part of their service. These members will record peoples’ stories surrounding 9/11 on site, edit and preserve those stories digitally, and sharing them with the community through the podcast. Through these efforts, these members will create a repository of these stories for future generations in addition to reminding people why the events of 9/11 were so significant. The goal of this part of the project is to record anyone at the National Cemetery who wants to share their thoughts so we can include the perspectives of veterans, their loved ones, AmeriCorps seniors, and community members in addition to AmeriCorps members.
Please contact Lindsay Crawford at lcrawford@unitedwaygenesee.org
No additional volunteer opportunities at this time.
222 N. Washington Square, Lansing, MI 48933, US
The Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) utilizes service as a strategy to address the state’s most pressing issues and empowers volunteers to strengthen communities.
Since its founding in 1991, the MCSC has granted more than $100 million in public and private funds to community organizations enabling them to engage millions of Michigan citizens in volunteer service. This support has leveraged more than $85 million in local resources to further support these community volunteer initiatives.
Volunteerism doesn't just happen. Most social service and nonprofit organizations rely heavily on volunteers as a valuable human resource; that resource must be stewarded carefully and supported continuously. Volunteer recruitment, management, training, placement, and recognition require resources and attention. With continued public and private support, along with the necessary training, resources, and coordination needed to help people serve, volunteerism can become a way of life for all Michigan citizens.
It is our vision that all Michigan residents, beginning at an early age and continuing for a lifetime, meet community needs and find personal fulfillment through service-learning and volunteering. Michigan is an ideal place to live and is recognized nationally because its citizens believe so strongly in the value of service as a way of life.
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August 14, 2024
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