9/11 Day of Service: Transforming Tragedy into Collective Healing

Dr. Daisy Khan brings decades of interfaith bridge-building experience to her latest conversation with Jay Winuk, co-founder of 9/11 Day of Service. Both graduates of Jericho High School, their lives intersected through tragedy on September 11th, 2001 - one losing a firefighter brother in the South Tower while rushing to save lives, the other suddenly transformed from an ordinary American Muslim into a target of suspicion and hostility.

This episode of WISE Women with Daisy Khan reveals how personal grief can become collective healing when channeled through service rather than bitterness. Winuk's initiative has grown into what is now recognized as America's largest annual day of charitable engagement, with approximately 35 million Americans participating, making it one of only two federally recognized National Days of Service alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Their conversation addresses the missing narrative of healing efforts that followed 9/11, the practical challenges of bridging divides in an increasingly polarized America, and the documented power of personal connections to combat prejudice. With over 100 million Americans born since 9/11 having no direct memory of either the attacks or the subsequent unity, this dialogue offers both historical perspective and actionable solutions for contemporary challenges.

Personal Tragedy Becomes Public Purpose  

Glenn Winuk embodied the spirit of service that would later inspire a national movement. As a partner at Holland & Knight law firm and a 20-year volunteer firefighter in Jericho, Long Island, he represented the everyday heroes who stepped forward on September 11th. When the attacks began, Glenn helped evacuate his law firm's offices before heading on foot into the South Tower with borrowed medical equipment, determined to save lives. He perished when the building collapsed, his remains later found alongside other first responders in the South Tower lobby.

Jay Winuk faced the unique challenge of mourning a brother whose death became part of a national tragedy watched by millions worldwide. The experience taught him that grief requires both private processing and public meaning-making. Rather than retreating into bitterness, he chose to honor Glenn's legacy through the same spirit of service that had defined his brother's life. This decision reflected a broader pattern among 9/11 families who transformed their loss into vehicles for positive change.

The psychological impact of losing someone in such a public catastrophe creates complex dynamics around memorialization and healing. Unlike typical grief processes that occur within family and community circles, 9/11 families found their losses becoming symbols for national trauma and recovery. This positioned them uniquely to influence how America would remember and respond to the attacks, making their choices about legacy particularly significant for the nation's healing trajectory.

Movement That Transforms Pain Into Action  

The 9/11 Day of Service began when Jay Winuk received a call from colleague David Paine proposing a grassroots initiative to mark the anniversary through good deeds rather than solely through mourning. The concept reflected observations of how Americans had spontaneously come together after the attacks, translating that spirit into an annual ritual of service. Starting in 2002, they consulted with 9/11 community leaders to ensure their approach honored victims while creating something constructive for the future.

The initiative's growth defied initial expectations, evolving from thousands of participants to what researchers now document as 30 million Americans engaging in charitable service annually on September 11th. The federal recognition achieved in 2009 through the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act provided official status and funding support, creating infrastructure for large-scale coordination. The designation alongside Martin Luther King Jr. Day established a powerful precedent for commemorating tragedy through service rather than solely through remembrance.

Current scale of 9/11 Day operations demonstrates remarkable reach:

• 24 cities hosting coordinated meal-packing events

• 30,000 volunteers participating in organized activities annually

• 9 million shelf-stable meals produced for food banks nationwide

• 6,000 volunteers participating in New York City events alone aboard the Intrepid Museum

• Corporate partnerships providing funding and employee volunteer teams

• Educational programs reaching schools across America

The model succeeds because it provides concrete ways for people to channel emotions into action while building community connections across difference. Unlike passive commemoration, active service creates shared experiences that forge new relationships and strengthen existing ones, addressing the isolation and helplessness that often accompany traumatic anniversaries.

The Missing Narrative of Interfaith Healing

Dr. Daisy Khan revealed a troubling oversight in how 9/11's aftermath has been documented and remembered. Despite extensive interfaith bridge-building efforts that emerged after the attacks, including projects by organizations like the New York Ethical Society that collected materials for oral history archives, virtually none of this healing work has been preserved in major museums or public memory institutions. This omission reflects broader patterns in how American institutions document crisis response, often prioritizing dramatic narratives over collaborative healing processes.

The absence of this documentation has serious consequences for national healing and contemporary policy discussions. Without visible records of successful interfaith cooperation and community bridge-building, Americans lack models for addressing current religious tensions and cultural conflicts. This creates cycles where each crisis feels unprecedented rather than building on proven strategies for reconciliation and understanding.

Khan's experience illustrates how quickly American Muslims went from ordinary citizens to objects of suspicion, facing everything from workplace discrimination to physical threats. Yet the stories of non-Muslim neighbors, colleagues, and strangers who stood up for their Muslim community members remain largely untold. These individual acts of solidarity, multiplied across thousands of communities, represented significant moral courage that deserves documentation and celebration as part of America's response to terrorism.

The institutional failure to preserve interfaith healing narratives also impacts current efforts to combat rising religious prejudice. Without accessible examples of successful bridge-building, contemporary activists and community leaders must constantly reinvent strategies rather than building on documented best practices. This inefficiency wastes resources and slows progress on urgent social cohesion challenges.

Practical Strategies for Bridging Divides

Both Khan and Winuk emphasized that meaningful change happens through personal connections rather than abstract political arguments or social media debates. Khan's approach to combating Islamophobia focuses on encouraging people to meet and spend time with Muslims rather than relying on media representations or political rhetoric. This person-to-person strategy acknowledges that prejudice often stems from a lack of contact rather than ideological conviction.

The effectiveness of personal connection strategies has solid research foundations. Contact theory in social psychology demonstrates that prejudice reduction occurs most reliably when people from different groups interact as equals in cooperative settings working toward shared goals. The 9/11 Day of Service creates exactly these conditions, bringing together diverse volunteers focused on community improvement rather than political or religious differences.

Winuk's insights about listening reflect growing understanding of how validation and empathy can bridge ideological divides. Rather than persuading people to change their views, effective dialogue often begins with acknowledging that different perspectives stem from legitimate concerns and experiences. This approach reduces defensiveness and creates space for genuine relationship-building that can eventually shift attitudes more naturally than argument.

The scale challenge cannot be ignored - personal connection strategies work but require significant time and effort to impact societal-level change. However, both speakers noted that individual actions create ripple effects, with each positive interaction potentially influencing how participants approach future encounters with difference. These cumulative effects suggest that grassroots relationship-building, while slow, may prove more durable than top-down policy interventions.

Lessons for Current Challenges and Future Generations  

The conversation addressed a sobering reality - approximately 100 million Americans have been born since 9/11, meaning nearly one-third of the current population has no direct memory of either the attacks or the subsequent national unity. This demographic shift creates both challenges and opportunities for transmitting lessons about resilience, service, and community response to crisis.

Winuk emphasized that younger generations respond particularly well to service opportunities that allow them to impact their communities directly. Rather than abstract discussions about historical events, hands-on volunteer experiences provide tangible ways for young people to embody values of mutual support and civic engagement. The educational components of 9/11 Day programming help connect service activities to historical understanding and contemporary relevance.

The challenge extends beyond remembering 9/11 to building sustainable civic culture that can withstand future crises. With volunteer rates fluctuating significantly and many Americans reporting feeling disconnected from their communities, initiatives like 9/11 Day provide models for creating regular opportunities for civic participation that strengthen social bonds.

Take action to build community resilience and bridge divides:

• Seek personal connections with people from different backgrounds through volunteer activities, religious communities, or neighborhood organizations

• Practice listening without convincing during conversations about contentious topics

• Support organizations that facilitate interfaith dialogue and cross-cultural understanding

• Participate in 9/11 Day of Service activities or create your own community service initiatives

• Document and share stories of successful bridge-building in your community

• Engage with young people through mentorship or educational programs that emphasize civic participation

The wisdom emerging from this conversation suggests that healing and unity require ongoing commitment rather than one-time responses to crisis. By institutionalizing service and relationship-building through initiatives like 9/11 Day, communities can develop the social infrastructure needed to withstand future challenges while honoring the memory of those lost and the heroism of those who serve others.

The WISE Women with Daisy Khan podcast continues to challenge audiences with uncomfortable truths about history, religion, and social justice. This episode's willingness to address both Prophet Muhammad's achievements and the theological controversies surrounding his celebration reflects Dr. Khan's commitment to an honest dialogue that respects different perspectives while insisting on historical accuracy.

Visit 911day.org to learn about participation opportunities and educational resources that help transform tragedy into ongoing community strengthening.

#DaisyKhan #WISEWomenwithDaisyKhan #Islam #Islamawareness #Islameducation #Islamophobia #Muslim #9/11 #JayWinuk #GlennWinuk #September11 #AuthenticStories #PeaceThroughMedia #ReligiousTolerance 

Connect with Dr Daisy Khan:

Website: daisykhan.com
Podcast: wisewomenwithdaisykhan.com 
LinkedIn: @drdaisykhan 
YouTube: @WISEWomenwithDaisyKhan 
Instagram: @WISEwomenwithdaisykhan 
Facebook: Wise Women with Daisy Khan 
WISE Muslim Women: wisemuslimwomen.org

Follow Jay Winuk:Websites:

Speaking: jaywinukspeeches.com 
PR Agency: winukpr.com 
9/11 Day: 911day.org
LinkedIn: @jay-winuk-67093913 
Twitter: @JayWinuk 
Facebook: Jay Winuk 
9/11 Day LinkedIn: @911day