For Ann Moulton, the Heber Valley Day of Service is a way to ensure the 9/11 terrorists don’t have the last say.
“Instead of sadly remembering that day, we come together to commemorate the first responders who served in that tragedy," she said. "And we give some service to the community to make it better."
Moulton is a specialist for JustServe.org and is part of a coalition of local civic groups, faith organizations and other groups connected to the community.
The Day of Service will be commemorated on Saturday, Sept. 9. It starts at 9 a.m. with an opening ceremony at Main Street Park in Heber City. Participants will then be dispatched to beautification projects at the Heber Valley Railroad, Heber Valley Hospital and Heber Main Street, along with some additional service opportunities.
“There's weaving of waterproof mats for the refugees and the homeless that will be set up at the City Park," said Moulton. "And then Cascade Springs is also going to be cleaned up with some beautification there.”
MVF Church youth pastor Spud Beckstrom said the reason for this day of service is simple but powerful. “When all the first responders ran into the flames and the rubble and everything, and they were just there to simply serve people. And that's what we want to do on this day is remind people that we're just simply here to serve people.”
For those who are unable to donate their time, the Wasatch Community Foundation is collecting funds at HeberValleyServes.org. Its mission is to address the unmet basic needs of Wasatch County residents including food insecurity, housing and public transportation. The foundation is also raising funds for local food drives, the Christmas Food Box program and Weekend Backpack program.
Board member Cassandra Smith said when they were filling backpacks with food to ensure kids would not go hungry over Christmas break, she experienced something she will never forget.
“While we were filling those bags, we thought we had enough food but realized we are not going to have enough," she said. "And we decided we're just going to keep filling these food bags until all the food is gone. And people kept coming and taking the food bags and taking the food bags. And we ended up filling way more food bags than we anticipated being able to fill. It was kind of a Christmas miracle.”
And so is a community that comes together to remember…and serve.
