Service Awareness Week
• Connecting to Each Other Through Community Service on 9/11
I slept and dreamed that life was joy.
I awoke and found that life was but service.
I served and discovered that service was joy.
-Rabindranath Tagore
Everyone remembers where they were when it happened. Everyone remembers how they felt. I was in California at the time, not knowing that I would move to New York a year later. Ground Zero was one of first places I saw upon arrival. The void was symbolic and provoked so many emotions. Being from away, I could gauge the mixed reactions New Yorkers had to 9/11 and Ground Zero. In many ways, their attitudes were reflected throughout the nation. Anger, confusion and even hate sat at one end of the spectrum. On the other end, we set aside our individual identities, all of the superficial things that keep us from relating to our neighbors, and witnessed the nation come together in the days, weeks, and months that followed. In the aftermath and beyond, we all felt connected somehow to the families who lost loved ones. What sustained us through the shock and sorrow were the miracles of empathy, cooperation, unity, and compassion. We all felt connected. So many helping hands flooded New York that relief workers were actually turning people away at times. The spirit of service and volunteerism was so apparent in America during those times.
I had come to New York to go to college. My choice of studies was largely influenced by the events of 9/11 and how they reshaped the rose-colored world for my generation, which had never experienced its country at war. I majored in International Relations with a regional focus on the Middle East. Religion was my minor and I focused as much as I could on Islam. There was too much misinformation in the media and general public about Muslims. Knowledge is power. My studies revealed to me a simple truth noted by so many great authors in so many epic works: all of humanity is one interconnected, interdependent community. There is no "us" versus "them." There is only "we." Manander expressed it well when he said, "I am a man: nothing human is foreign to me."
Our common humanity is what inspired me to join Americorps VISTA and join the effort to eradicate poverty. Truly, a rising tide floats all boats. I came to Portland in June to begin my year of service at Hour Exchange Portland. HEP's core values spoke directly to my heart: respect, we are all assets, everyone's time and talents are equally valued, reciprocity is crucial to sustainable progress, and the idea that the definition of work should include those activities that support families and the community. Coming to Portland from New York City, I was immediately struck by the cultural difference in how people relate to strangers. Portlanders say hello to me when we pass each other on the street! On more then one occasion my bike has broken while riding and someone I didn't know has fixed it for me. In the few months that I've been here, I'm constantly invigorated by the strong sense of community in Portland. I feel connected and I only just arrived!
As 9/11 approaches, I am reminded of the spirit of service and volunteerism that overcame America in the aftermath. In fact, President Obama signed legislation establishing September 11th as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. The hope is that citizens will pledge to do just one good deed during the week of 9/11. In this way, we honor those who so tragically passed while reaffirming our shared lives as a community. Hour Exchange Portland is organizing a Service Awareness Week from 9/7-9/11 in partnership with United Way of Greater Portland and USM Muskie School of Public Service. Collectively investing in programs, organizations, and public spaces that make Portland a better place to live is vital; it's important to serve because it reminds us of our unity. No person is an island and only through collectively acting on shared visions of a better future can we actually manifest that future. The late, great lyricist Michael Jackson wrote, "We are the world, we are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day so let's start giving." It's a constant struggle to make our world a better place. Never should we look around and be satisfied with the state of affairs. Let us consistently build on the foundation of community already present in Portland. Let's celebrate milestones but realize that our work is never really done. Every year on 9/11 let us reflect and compare what happens when we divide ourselves versus what happens when we unify. Every year let us re-commit to unity and everyday let us act on it. Let us remember the joy in service!
Marena Faith Blanchard
Americorps*VISTA, Member Care
Hour Exchange Portland 207.874.9868
207.773.4701 fax
470 Forest Avenue, Suite 300
Portland, ME 04101
www.hourexchangeportland.org
