In honor of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, Stonewall Democrats of Dallas will spend Friday, Sept. 11, volunteering at AIDS Interfaith Network.
The Serve America Act includes a measure to establish a "Call to Service Campaign" designating Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service. President Obama signed the measure into law earlier this year. Sept. 11 was chosen as the National Day of Service to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in rural Pennsylvania when passengers fought back to keep the terrorists from using the plane as a weapon against other national landmark buildings.
Gay rugby player Mark Bingham of San Francisco was among the passengers on Flight 93 and is widely believed to have helped lead the other passengers in fighting back to bring the plane down before it could reach the terrorists’ intended target.
Andy Smith, a Stonewall Democrats member who is also chair of the AIN board, helped set up the volunteer opportunity.
Stonewall Democrats is looking for 10 volunteers to work at AIN from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Sept. 11. Volunteers will help prepare breakfast and lunch, plus take-away dinner meals for about 30 to 90 clients. They will also help distribute the meals and talk with clients.
Volunteers should dress comfortably and casually. T-shirts, jeans and sneakers are recommended.
Those interested in participating can contact Stonewall National Day of Service Coordinator Jesse Garcia at jessegarciadallas@gmail.com. Those who are unable to volunteer on Sept. 11 but would like to volunteer on a different day or with a different organization can contact Stonewall Communications Director Mike Lo Vuolo at dist2cdcmike@aol.com.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 4, 2009.