Planning A Day of Service and Remembrance

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

A golden opportunity for community service and solemn remembrance is being offered in Moapa Valley next month and all of the community is being invited to engage and participate.

The JustServe.org initiative is partnering with national non-profit 911day.org on the weekend of September 10-11 for a national day of service and remembrance. Local JustServe coordinators are looking for service projects as well as volunteers and organizations willing to help in the acts of community service that weekend.

911day.org is a nation-wide organization that has established September 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. The day is meant to be a permanent tribute to those killed and injured on 9/11/2001, and to the many brave individuals who arose in response to the terrorists attacks on that day.

Local JustServe.org coordinator Larry Griffiths explains that the community service-oriented website has partnered with 911day.org in this year’s event.
“JustServe.org has provided an internet platform where service projects can be posted,” Griffiths said. “Those wishing to volunteer for the projects can go there, find the project they are interested in, and then go out and help in their communities.”

Griffiths explained that the local JustServe.org team decided to divide the national observation into a whole weekend.
“We looked at who the bulk of volunteers would be in our community and many of them will be in church on Sunday, Sept. 11,” Griffiths said. “So we had the idea to make Saturday the day of Service and keep Sunday as a day of remembrance, contemplation and prayer.”

Consequently, most of the service projects being planned will be carried out in the community on Saturday, Griffiths said. But there may still be some planned for Sunday, he said.

“Just because most are planned for Saturday doesn’t mean that organizations can’t plan service projects on the Sunday,” Griffiths said. “And JustServe.com will be happy to list them. We are not limiting anything. People and groups can certainly plan and perform service whenever they would like.”

Several projects are already posted on the JustServe.org website. Largest of these is a free smoke detector installation project. The Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross is providing about 600 smoke detectors free of charge. Trained installers, volunteers from the community, will be providing the free installation on Saturday morning, Sept. 10.

“We are looking both for people to help us install them and also for people who need new smoke detectors in their homes,” Griffiths said.

Those needing smoke detectors can call 702-397-HELP to leave a name and phone number and set up a time to have them installed that day.

Those who wish to help do the installing can go to JustServe.org to sign up and volunteer. The installations will take place between 9 am and noon on Sept. 10.

Other service projects are also being organized and posted to JustServe.org, Griffiths said. There will be work projects at Valley of Fire State Park, a project at St. John’s Catholic Church, a project at the VFW Post Home in Overton and more.

“We are hoping that local groups and organizations will let us know what needs are out there that we could add as service projects for that weekend,” Griffiths said. “If there is a need for volunteers, we can post those projects on JustServe.org and people can sign up to volunteer at them.”

Groups and organizations can send a brief description of their project, the number of volunteers needed, and contact information for the service project manager by email to JustServe@mvdsl.com to be included in the special day of service.

“And there is certainly no problem with groups organizing their own service projects and lining up their own volunteers to do them,” Griffiths said. “We welcome that. If they let us know about them, we can include them in our efforts.”

Griffiths emphasized that none of the initiative is a denominational or religious effort.
“We welcome everyone to come and help,” Griffiths said. “It isn’t about church or any religion. It is about unifying as a community, getting some service done to make the community better, and remembering and honoring those who fell on that fateful day.”

For more information, go to JustServe.org and enter a local zip code to see the many posted service projects in the area.