David Paine, a 9/11 Day cofounder, knows that the man who inspired the nonprofit’s mission would agree.
Glenn Winuk was a lawyer in the powerhouse Manhattan office of Holland & Knight, a prestigious global law firm.
“But he always remained a volunteer firefighter and EMT for his small hometown of Jericho, New York,” Paine told The Post and Courier, then chuckled at a memory. “As a kid, when his buddies played football, he was on the sidelines with a first-aid kit, if they needed a medic.”
When two planes smashed into the World Trade Center twin towers, Winuk helped people evacuate the law offices then headed to the south tower lobby with a medical kit borrowed from a FDNY firefighter.
Winuk died caring for the wounded. When his remains were discovered six months later, an open medical kit was by his side.
His compassion and courage inspired his brother Jay Winuk and Paine to launch 9/11 Day, a grassroots initiative that turned into a national movement to “honor through action.”
Dennehy says volunteer events are joyful, celebrating compassion and decency while making new friends.
Meal packing is broken into assembly lines tasked with packing each food kit with rice, bottled oil, dehydrated vegetables, spices, Himalayan pink salt and beans. Recipients need only add water and cook.
“Because lines of volunteers will be doing rote tasks, there’s plenty of bandwidth for chatting and getting to know each other,” Dennehy said. “We’ll have DJ Trevor to keep energy levels up.”
(Trevor shared the start of his playlist for any volunteers needing a boost to get their own projects started: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” Earth Wind Fire’s “September,” Pharrell’s “Happy,” Katrina & the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine.”)
Paine emphasizes anyone can honor 9/11 by doing a good deed, citing a man who left coins in a laundromat so strangers would have free washing.
“A good deed can be as simple as holding a door for someone,” he explained.
Dining and Cooking