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At a New Jersey school, a tradition of donating food

As the summer of 2002 came to a close, Annie Walsh was struggling with how to commemorate 9/11 with her elementary and middle school students in Englewood, N.J.

She didn't want to do it in just a "somber way."

Then she heard about what was then called "One Day's Pay" – which was what myGoodDeed was first called. That effort by Glenn Winuk's friends and families to turn 9/11 into a day of service immediately made sense to her. "We wanted to go for a theme of compassion and hope for the future," says Ms. Walsh, principal of the St. Cecilia Interparochial School.

So she organized a 9/11 food drive. That year,every student at St. Cecilia's brought a can of soup, a box of pasta,or cereal – something to donate to those in need. That was the beginning of what has become a 9/11 tradition at St. Cecilia's. And it's transformed the way students like Kristine Colon think of the attacks.

"After something so tragic happened, it's nice not to just think of it as a tragedy but as a reason to try to help people," says the eighth-grader, who now looks forward to her annual giving on 9/11. "It makes me feel good."

The tradition has also changed the way Shavelly Valencia thinks of the tragedy.

"The heroes did something good to try to help others that day," says Shavelly, who is also in the eighth grade. "We should follow their example and try to do something good like they did."

When Sept. 11 comes around each year, Shavelly says she feels "sad," but also "a responsibility to try to do something for others."

Applauding such feelings is philanthropy expert Michael Bisesi. He says those school kids, and the nation itself, owe a "debt of a gratitude" to victims' families such as the Winuks for turning personal grief into a push for public good.

"They're an example of people whosuffered probably the most profoundly painful of losses," says Professor Bisesi, director of the nonprofit leadership program at Seattle University. "And yet, they've dug down very deep and said,'We're going to make something good of this.' And they have."

– Alexandra Marks

The unexpected bonus of giving

Sandra Randel, an Atlanta bookkeeper, has a simple philosophy for giving: "I'm supposed to do it."

Once tightfisted, she says she's the first one these days to roll down the window to hand a few dollars to panhandlers at red lights.

"When I'm being called to do it, I do it," she says.

Initially, she didn't think of an influence from 9/11 during her own transformation. But recently, she saw a pop-up ad online about myGoodDeed.org. She clicked on it, and it made so much sense that she pledged her giving to memorialize those who died trying to help others.

This summer, Ms. Randel made two of the biggest gifts of her life.

In one case, she gave her Brazilian housekeeper, Vania, and Vania's son,Leo, money for their first-ever vacation – a trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In the second, she gave her friend Steve in Houston – who is a vintage clothing merchant and consultant – $2,000 to pay off an onerous credit-card debt.

Neither person asked for her help.That's why Randel stepped in, forgoing her own summer vacation in the process. "The trait they both share," Randel says, "is they deal with disappointment without complaining."

Inspired by her husband, James, who frequently gives money to strangers, Randel says she has learned to respond to what she calls "connections" or intuitions between people.

She says it takes courage. In fact, she didn't immediately tell her husband about the gifts. (He gave her no grief when she finally did.)

A few days after she made her gifts this summer, her husband received an unexpected bonus at work. She says that development proves a theory she's gradually learned to live by. "When you react to these connections and give, you don't have to worry about running out of money yourself," she says.

– Patrik Jonsson

In Anchorage, a bike-ride fundraiser

Like most Alaskans, whose time zone is four hours behind the East Coast, Beau Bassett was asleep when the initial attacks occurred on 9/11. He learned the news only because a television was turned on at the local Camp Fire USA headquarters, where he was attending a youth-development meeting.

“It was obvious to me that it was one of the two or three most significant things that had ever happened in my life,” he says.

Now standing in front of a social-studies class at Begich Middle School in Anchorage, the former teacher, now a volunteer coordinator, is urging students to do good works to commemorate the 2001 attacks.

“Some family members would want the memorial and remembrance to be around good deeds,” he says, passing out fliers about a 9/11 community bike ride, as well as yellow “One Good Deed” cards intended to provide inspiration on Sept. 11.

This the second year the community in Anchorage has commemorated the attacks with an evening community bike event. The riders go from a downtown fire station to the city’s police headquarters, an eight-mile trip that mostly follows tree-lined bike trails.

Last year, 75 people took part and raised $1,800 for the Red Cross of Alaska. Organizers hope this year’s event will draw at least 90 cyclists and raise $2,500.

Mr. Bassett likes the idea of making Sept. 11 a day of service, emulating the good character shown by those who volunteered to help victims of the attacks.

Alaska’s largest city is still small enough that “it is possible to connect the community in a sense of being a small urban community where people can know who the firefighters are, who the police are,” Bassett said during a lunch break at Begich Middle School. “The more aware people are of who provides this public service, the more they appreciate it, the more they value it.”

– Yereth Rosen