UAB students will honor the legacy of Sept. 11 through service and support by putting together more than 750 care packages for veterans, active service members and first responders.Thanks to a national 9/11 Day Campus Grant, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is growing a program that connects students with Birmingham community organizations in need.
UAB Student Mentorship & Leadership received the grant from 9/11 Day as part of UNITE for Good, a national effort to generate 1 million good deeds.
Into the Streets is a biannual day of service in the city and UAB’s longest-running program. Each fall and spring semester, Into the Streets sends hundreds of students, faculty and staff across Birmingham to serve with local nonprofits and organizations.
This semester, the grant will fund the addition of a new, on-campus service component for Into the Streets on Saturday, Sept. 19. UAB students will honor the legacy of Sept. 11 through service and support by putting together more than 750 care packages for veterans, active service members and first responders.
A 9/11 remembrance ceremony will start the day at 8:30 a.m. in partnership with UAB Veteran Services at McMahon Hall Courtyard, 1600 10th Ave. South.
Students will then travel to locations around Birmingham, including Woodlawn United and McWane Science Center, and volunteer from 10 a.m.-noon. The care packages, which will be filled with hygiene products, will be assembled by students and alumni on campus at the National Alumni Society House, 1301 10th Ave. South.
UAB’s student-led organization Serve205 will then distribute the care kits to Three Hots and a Cot, a Birmingham-based non-profit organization that provides transitional housing, meals and support services to homeless military veterans.
Each year, 9/11 Day brings millions of people together to transform the anniversary of 9/11 into a powerful force for good. This year’s goal is to make the 25th anniversary of 9/11 the largest single day of doing good in the nation’s history.
As the country commemorates the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, UAB students will have an opportunity to honor the day through service to others. Students could simply be looking to fulfill service hours, says Abby Huguley, assistant director of Student Success.
“But through the remembrance ceremony and by supporting veterans, active service members and first responders, that experience can become something more meaningful — an opportunity to better understand community needs, build relationships and recognize their own capacity to create positive change.”
Organizers hope the experience will encourage students to continue serving their communities beyond the day of service.