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#SeedsOfService911A partnership between 9/11 Day · AmeriCorps · SERVENYS · chromatic black™
The 25th Anniversary of September 11
Remembrance Became Action.
Seeds of Service brought a new generation together to remember September 11, strengthen resilience, practice gratitude, and serve their communities.
2026 • Nassau County, New York
Planting the Lessons of 9/11 in a New Generation.
Impact at a Glance
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Students Engaged
Through Seeds of Service programming at Hempstead High School
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Care Packages
Youth serving youth across Nassau County
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Students
Participated in the commemorative assembly at Hempstead High School
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Elementary Students
Participated in service at Joseph A. McNeil Elementary School
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Lunch & Learns
For over 150 teachers and school administrators
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Snacks
Distributed to students during the Hempstead High School event
Recognized by Nassau County
Honored by Nassau County.
Nassau County has issued a formal proclamation recognizing Seeds of Service for 9/11 Day and the young people who made the 2026 initiative possible.
Nassau County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman proclaimed September 11, 2026 as “Seeds of Service Day” in Nassau County, commending SERVENYS, Inc., Hempstead High School and all those supporting the initiative for their commitment to service, education and for helping to carry forward the values of community, resilience and service.
The proclamation was presented at the Hempstead High School assembly by Mosha Hill on behalf of County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman.
A generation that did not live through September 11, 2001 chose to mark its 25th anniversary in service — and their own county took notice.
Nassau County, New York
September 11, 2026
A Day of Remembrance, Reflection & Service
Seeds of Service was designed to give students who were born years after September 11, 2001, a meaningful way to understand the day, hear directly from people connected to it, explore themes of grief and resilience, and ultimately turn remembrance into service.
8:46 AM
A School Stands Still
At 8:45 AM, Hempstead High School held its passing bell, keeping students in their classrooms and its normally busy hallways quiet. At 8:46 AM — the moment the first plane struck the North Tower — the school observed a Moment of Silence.
The Commemoration Assembly
The Assembly for a Generation That Doesn’t Remember.
Nearly 400 Hempstead High School students gathered for a commemorative assembly created specifically for a generation that knows September 11 as history rather than memory.
The morning began with Mr. Richard Brown, Assistant Superintendent for Education and Instruction, who challenged students to consider what September 11 teaches us about hatred and division—and our responsibility to choose compassion, understanding and unity.
Mr. Mosha Hill, representing Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, made the generational connection personal. He told students that he was a 10th grader when the attacks occurred and remembered waiting at a pay phone to reach his mother, who worked just blocks from the World Trade Center.
His message to students: one day, their generation will be responsible for carrying these stories forward.
History, told by people who lived it.
Moderated by Emmy Award–winning journalist Catherine McKenzie, students then heard directly from Anthony “AJ” Knight, a U.S. Navy veteran and 9/11 survivor who later assisted with recovery efforts at Ground Zero, and Dawn Gonzales, whose sister Janine was killed in Tower 1.
Their conversation moved beyond what happened on September 11 to what came afterward—grief, recovery, patriotism, resilience, service and the responsibility to remember.
Then the students took the conversation forward.
Students asked their own questions:
“As youth who weren’t born when 9/11 happened, how can we pass down the experience, your sister’s legacy and the bravery shown that day?”
“How has your patriotism changed or developed since 9/11?”
“What tools did you learn to recover from such a tragedy?”
They don’t have to remember the day to carry its lessons forward.
The assembly gave students the story. The rest of the day gave them a way to respond.
REMEMBRANCE → RESILIENCE → GRATITUDE → SERVICE
Students Put the Lessons Into Action
Following the assembly, students moved through three interactive stations designed around remembrance, resilience and service:
Remembrance & Gratitude
Students reflected on the people, stories and acts of courage connected to September 11, while also considering strength and gratitude in their own lives. Students added their personal reflections to a Wall of Remembrance and Gratitude.
Grief & Resilience
Led by Thurston O'Neal, LMFT, Owner and Principal of O'Neal Marriage and Family Therapy, PLLC, students participated in a guided conversation about grief, resilience and tools for navigating difficult experiences.
Service in Action
Students assembled care packages for young people and families experiencing homelessness, emergency shelter and housing instability across Nassau County—putting the day's lessons into practice by serving neighbors in their own community.
The Connection Was the Point
For students who weren't alive on September 11, remembrance cannot depend on personal memory.
Seeds of Service created another way in.
Students paused to remember. They heard the stories. They asked questions. They reflected. And then they served.
That progression was intentional: helping a new generation understand September 11 not only through what happened that day, but through the extraordinary spirit of service and community that followed.
Resilience
Giving Young People Tools They Can Use.
Seeds of Service paired remembrance with practical emotional-wellness education.
Students participated in grief and resilience programming designed to provide practical tools for processing grief, adversity and everyday challenges.
The experience was facilitated by Thurston O’Neal of O’Neal Marriage & Family Therapy and encouraged students to think about resilience not simply as “being strong,” but as knowing how to process difficult experiences, seek support and support others.
“What does it mean to be a good villager?”
Gratitude
Reflection Became Participation.
Students were invited to contribute their own voices through reflection prompts including:
“What does gratitude mean to you?”
“How can we support one another?”
“What does resilience look like to you?”
“What gives you hope for the future?”
Their responses became part of a collective Gratitude and Remembrance Wall demonstrating how a new generation understands community, resilience and hope.
Youth Serving Youth
775 Care Packages.
Youth Serving Youth.
Students from the Hempstead Union Free School District — Hempstead High School and Joseph A. McNeil Elementary School — helped assemble 775 care packages for their neighbors in need.
The care packages were distributed to schools and community organizations across Nassau County serving young people and families experiencing homelessness, housing instability, emergency shelter and transitional living, including Nassau Haven Emergency Youth Shelter, The Mary Brennan INN, Momma’s House, FCA Walkabout Transitional Living, Hempstead High School and Joseph A. McNeil Elementary School.
For Seeds of Service, the act of assembling those packages was just as important as what went inside them.
Many of today’s students were not yet born on September 11, 2001. One of the central goals of the initiative was to help a new generation understand the significance of that day while giving them a meaningful way to connect to its legacy: through service.
Students weren’t simply learning about September 11 as a historical event. They were putting its lessons into action — working together, caring for their neighbors and responding to the needs of young people in their own communities.
And in many cases, they were serving their peers.
The packages they assembled reached young people experiencing homelessness, students without stable housing, young people living in emergency shelters and transitional housing, and young mothers working to build stability for themselves and their children.
That connection was intentional.
Seeds of Service asked young people to remember a day they did not experience by carrying forward what came after it: community, compassion and service to others.
What Was Inside
Everyday Essentials, Packed by Hand.
General Hygiene Care Packages
Filled with everyday personal-care essentials including shampoo, conditioner, body wash, soap, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, lotion, socks and other hygiene products.
Feminine Hygiene Care Packages
Designed specifically to address menstrual and personal-care needs, with feminine hygiene products alongside essential toiletries and personal-care items.
Care packages included a combination of essential hygiene and personal-care items, including:
Shampoo
Conditioner
Body wash
Bar soap
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Mouthwash
Body lotion/moisturizer
Socks
Feminine hygiene products, including maxi pads and tampons
Personal cleansing/body wipes
Drawstring bags
Additional items were provided based on the specific needs of each partner organization, including:
Sweatpants in multiple sizes
Bath towels
Washcloths
Twin/Twin XL sheet sets
Blankets
Mattress covers
Laundry detergent
Laundry hampers
Storage baskets
Phone charging cables
Wall chargers
Other bedding and household essentials
Where the Service Went
From Students to Community.
Care packages and essential supplies were distributed to schools and community organizations across Nassau County serving young people and families experiencing homelessness, housing instability, emergency shelter and transitional living.
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All packages assembled at Hempstead High School stayed with the school, alongside sweatpants, socks and other essentials for students in need.
Covenant House received 24 care packages including bed-in-a-bag linens, towels, washcloths, laundry supplies, storage solutions, phone charging accessories and other everyday necessities.
Thirty Twin/Twin XL sheet sets were designated for distribution among Nassau Haven Emergency Youth Shelter, Momma’s House and FCA Walkabout Transitional Living.
Hempstead High School
So They Can Stay in School.
All care packages assembled during the Hempstead High School service project remained with the school to support students experiencing homelessness, housing instability and other challenging circumstances.
For some students, simply getting to school can be difficult. Without an official bus service, many students walk to school — including in rain, cold and harsh weather. By the time they arrive, their shoes and socks may be soaking wet, and some do not have access to a change of clothes. When the school’s student support center does not have what they need, students may have to be sent home — and sometimes they don’t return that day.
Seeds of Service responded to that need directly.
In addition to the hygiene care packages, the school received sweatpants in a range of sizes, socks and other personal-care essentials, giving staff practical resources they can provide immediately when a student arrives at school wet, without appropriate clothing or otherwise in need.
These weren’t simply donated supplies. They were tools to help students get dry, get comfortable and stay in school.
Service Designed Around Real Needs
No Two Organizations Alike.
Distribution wasn’t one-size-fits-all.
In addition to the general and feminine hygiene packages distributed among the six community partners, supplies were tailored when organizations identified specific needs. Covenant House received 24 care packages including bed-in-a-bag linens, towels, washcloths, laundry supplies, storage solutions, phone charging accessories and other everyday necessities appropriate for young people navigating homelessness and transitional housing.
Three organizations also received 10 Twin/Twin XL sheet sets each — 30 sets total — extending the project’s impact beyond hygiene to help meet basic housing and household needs.
More Than a Care Package
The goal was never simply to put products into bags.
It was to ask: What would make someone’s day a little easier? What does this school need to keep a student supported? What does a young person entering transitional housing actually need?
The result was a service project that paired youth engagement with tangible community support — transforming the lessons of 9/11 into acts of remembrance, resilience and gratitude.
Joseph A. McNeil Elementary School
The Seeds Kept Growing.
Seeds of Service continued beyond Hempstead High School.
At Joseph A. McNeil Elementary School, approximately 100 students joined the initiative and assembled 400 additional care packages for young people and families in need across Long Island.
Principal Renee Wright and Assistant Principal Rachel Blount worked alongside the SERVENYS logistics team to organize the project, engage students and create an age-appropriate hands-on service experience.
Students moved through an assembly-line process, packing drawstring bags with hygiene and personal-care essentials.
The experience reinforced one of the central ideas behind Seeds of Service:
Young people do not have to wait until adulthood to make a difference in their communities.
Food & Hospitality
Nourishing Students
& Supporting Educators.
Seeds of Service also brought people together around the table.
At Joseph A. McNeil Elementary School, more than 100 students were provided meals as part of their participation in the day’s service activities.
At both Hempstead High School and Joseph A. McNeil Elementary School, two Lunch & Learn sessions brought together over 150 teachers and school administrators, with meals provided by local restaurants.
The Lunch & Learns created dedicated space for educators to engage with the themes of September 11, remembrance, resilience and service, while recognizing the teachers and school staff who helped make the initiative possible.
Food & Hospitality Impact
- 100+ elementary students fed
- Lunch & Learn at Hempstead High School
- Lunch & Learn at Joseph A. McNeil Elementary School
- Meals provided for participating teachers and staff
- Local restaurants engaged to provide meals
More Than a Day of Service
“Because the best way to teach young people about community is to give them an opportunity to build one.”
Seeds of Service was created to ensure that the lessons associated with September 11 — remembrance, resilience, gratitude, community and service — are not lost as the distance between today's young people and September 11, 2001 continues to grow.
This work asks a new generation not simply to remember what happened, but to decide what lessons they will carry forward.
REMEMBRANCE.RESILIENCE.GRATITUDE.SERVICE.
Media & Recognition
In the News
Long Island Herald
Hempstead students mark 9/11 with service project helping children in need
Read the storyNewsday
Coverage link coming soon
Community Leaders & Recognition
Watch the Highlights
The Day in Pictures
Partners & Acknowledgments
O’Neal Marriage & Family Therapy
Help Us Keep Growing.
Seeds of Service began with a simple goal: plant the lessons of September 11 in a new generation. The work continues through young people who choose to remember, care for one another and serve their communities.
DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
A STRONGER US.
People. Purpose. Community. Always Forward.