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9/11 Day of Service
Every 9/11 Day, our AmeriCorps team participates in a Day of Service in remembrance of the lives that were lost in 2001. This year, the ACT program came together to assemble and distribute 500 kits and donate blood in honor of first responders. We were able to have our day of service thanks to the generous support of 9/11 Day and AmeriCorps.
Give Hope, Give Blood
The ACT Program Day of Service featured two major successful activities that produced a positive outcome for our community and helped educate community members. The first event was our Blood Drive held on 9/23/26 from 11 am to 3 pm. This blood drive was organized as countless lives were impacted on September 11th, 2001. Donating blood was one way Americans showed up in a desperate time of need. Many blood centers are still honoring those who risked their lives on that day by continuing to have a tribute throughout the month of September. The ACT team wanted to be a part of it this year. The theme of our blood drive was ‘Give Hope, Give Blood’. Giving blood is a symbol of selflessness to donate blood who may need it in a time of need- similar to back in 2001. Additionally, in our community there has been an ongoing blood shortage, and we wanted to be a part of that call to action by hosting a blood drive.
Our goal was to have a total of 15 blood donations as this was our first blood drive ever. Versiti and AmeriCorps came together and donated a total of 17 pints - enough to save 51 lives! In total, we had 15 appointment schedules, 11 first time donors, and 2 walk-ins. The drive was made possible with the help of 22 AmeriCorps members, who assisted during the blood drive to ensure its success.
Remembrance through Harm Reduction
The second activity for our Day of Service was focused on distributing harm reduction kits to reduce opioid overdose deaths and outreach/ share community resources. We participated in the nationwide ‘Save a Life Day’ and collaborated with a community organization ‘Face Addiction Now’. Our goal was to assemble 500 kits and outreach to at least 500 community members. We exceeded our goal with our AmeriCorps program having three different teams at the Huda Clinic, Corktown, and Midtown and Wayne State University Campus. Our FAN teams were located in 10 additional locations that include, The Great Lakes Bay Region, Michigan State University, Mt Clemens, West Side of Detroit, Ypsilanti, University of Michigan, Ferndale/Royal Oak, Rosa Parks Transit Center, Downtown Detroit, Chippewa, and Delta County. We exceeded expectations and surpassed our goal of 500 kits distributed to the community. This year, we passed out 3,128 kits (6,256 doses) throughout the entire day. We had 40 volunteers that distributed and disseminated information to community members.
The ACT Program sincerely thanks AmeriCorps and 9/11 Day for their generous
support. Our Day of Service would not have been possible without their partnerships and confidence in the work that we do. AmeriCorps and 9/11 Day have allowed us to inspire, educate, and help save lives.
