Troops from all around the country helped civilian staff at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, and the Lincoln Center in the Bronx for more than six weeks. The Army Reserve had dispatched task forces to each of these centers that included preventive medicine and infectious disease specialists, nurses, administrative staff and other medical specialists. 

Lieutenant Aykhan Alibayli was one of those volunteers working on administrative tasks and testing in the Lincoln Center from April 12 until May 27. 

“Initially when we were there, the hospitals were overwhelmed and didn’t have enough staff,” he said.“The nurses were working seven days a week non stop, so we were there to help them fill in their roles. But now that infections are low, they’re transitioning back to normal operation.” 

According to Alibayli, the hospitals are switching some of their floors from intensive care units (ICUs) back to medical surgical floors and clinics. 

Despite the exposure, all of the members of the 85-soldier task force in the Lincoln Center tested negative for the virus.

 “[The negative test results] probably show you that the proper hygiene and PPE usage does in fact work because we were right there in a COVID infested area.“All the patients were COVID-positive patients, so the fact that none of us got sick shows you that if you use the proper precaution you would be safe,” said Alibayli, who also tested negative for the virus. 

Major Theresa Simard who worked as a doctor in one of the ICUs in the Lincoln Center said she was sent home because the situation at the care facility is significantly better now. She attributed the decrease in cases to social distancing and the city lockdown. However, now that the cases have decreased she believes it is safe for the city to start slowly reopening. 

“If enough people can just keep it together, wear their masks, maintain social distancing and be respectful of the desease, we can go to stores, go shopping. We just can’t be on top of each other,” Simard said. 

Joining military and civilian medical workers during a pandemic was an unprecedented effort. It was a complex operation as the Army, Navy, Air Force and U.S. Public Health Corps had to all be deployed almost at once. Alibayli said that in the event of a resurgence, the military will be better prepared to confront the pandemic.

 “I think this time around the Army has a lot of lessons learned,” he said.“Because previously, we’ve never really done an exercise like that. I think the closest one was Katrina, but even then it wasn’t really a public health epidemic. But I think this time around, it was a good experience for us to really understand better in the future, how to deploy resources and utilize them in a quicker and more efficient way.”

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On the other side of the city in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Elan Bolender, 22, is packing meals and loading trucks to deliver them to households nearby.

Peters and Bolender are two of the 250 young volunteers from Me’ver Movement. Their mission is to help out those who are the most vulnerable during the coronavirus crisis in New York City. 

“We’re not doctors,” Peters, a junior at Washington University in St. Louis, said. “But as students, what we’re trying to do is provide as much support to the people who need it as we can, for those who can’t leave the house.”

He decided to skip a spring break trip with the virus raging in his Manhattan home.

At first, Peters stayed inside playing video games all day. “Then I asked myself, I am young and healthy, so why not do something more valuable?” he said. 

Peters is part of a team of  ten young NYC residents who formed a Coronavirus Task Force and searched for other volunteers. 

Volunteers help shop for groceries, package meals and then deliver them to New Yorkers in need. The food is paid for by the folks who need it.

The Me’ver Movement is growing rapidly. Peters said that they are now planning to open new chapters in Los Angeles and Dallas to help people who need support during the pandemic.

Bolender started volunteering at Me’ver earlier this month. As a former member of the Israeli Defense Forces, he said that helping others is in his blood. 

“I knew that whether it’s within our army service or in school or anywhere, I just want to be able to lend the help we can to anyone that needs it,” Bolender said. “But it doesn’t necessarily have to be this specific volunteer group. Right now, there are so many negative things going on, so let’s take a step back and help one another to spread positivity.”

The World Health Organization said that older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease) appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the virus. Over 1.4 million New Yorkers are currently aged 60 and older. 

Me’ver has gotten a lot of personal messages from those who received their help. Bolender said one of the most memorable experiences for him was his conversation with an elderly lady he delivered meals to.

“She told us she was a volunteer when she was young. And now she is older, it’s like a full circle,” Bolender said. “She said she saw herself through what we do, and she is really grateful for everything we’ve done.”

Me’ver is not the only volunteer organization that Bolender participates in. He also helps out at Hillel At Baruch to pack groceries for those who can not leave their homes.

“If not me, then who else? That’s a question I’ve asked myself for many years growing up,” Bolender said. “If no one is going to go out there and do these things, then I have to be that person.”

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The National Day of Service and Remembrance event Wednesday was held in partnership with non-profit organizations 9/11 Day, Feeding Children Everywhere, and the Corporation for National Community and Service.

“I was here the day of 9/11 and it was such a devastating day,” said Tracy Stein of the UJA Federation of New York. “So the idea that we can come together in as New Yorkers common cause to do something good and important is really gratifying and it just makes the day more bearable to helping others.”

From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., volunteers from more than 40 companies, interfaith groups and organizations worked in two-hour shifts. At the beginning of every shift, religious leaders from multiple faiths provided a blessing for the volunteers, as well as a moment of silence for those lost. 

Special guest performances also came out to unite and inspire the crowd, including the cast of the Broadway musical “Come From Away.” The show tells the story of when 38 planes and thousands of passengers were diverted to the town of Gander, Newfoundland, on September 11, 2001.

David Wein, co-writer of Broadway musical “Come From Away” takes a quick break from assembling boxes of oatmeal to pose for a picture. After performing for volunteers, the cast joined their crew, writers, and other volunteers, to meal pack. Come From Away tells the story of how 38 planes and thousands of passengers were diverted to the town of Gander, Newfoundland on September 11, 2001. Photo by: Maureen Mullarkey

“The people of Gander opened their hearts and their homes and they gave everything,” said co-writer David Hein. “We were New Yorkers at the time when my wife and I wrote the story and we remember those days as seeing kindness in New York in response to that. And when we went out to Gander to interview everyone for the show, we realized that like Mr. Rodgers said, when his mother said there were scary things on TV that you should always look for the helpers. And what we saw in Gander, we said there were the helpers in the world on that day and that we could be the helpers as well.”

Despite the long hours, volunteers kept in high spirits. Some participated in friendly competitions, dancing along to a DJ’s upbeat music as they packed bags of brown sugar oatmeal.

“We have a great volunteer base,” said Sarah Davila, Public Relations Manager for Feeding Children Everywhere. “We have an amazing team, good energy, good attitude.”

The packaged food will be donated to City Harvest and will be distributed to about 1.2 million people; roughly 10,000 meals will be sent to Hurricane Dorian victims in the Bahamas.

Jorge Garcia of Forest Hills, Queens, knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of kindness.

“Being a veteran myself, I know how much it means. When we used to receive care packages of this nature, it meant so much to us,” Garcia said. “Like someone does care, someone’s out there thinking of us. So I want to be able to give that back to them. And I bring my daughter now, she helps out too.”

For some volunteers, 9/11 Day is not only an annual tradition, but a commitment that requires international travel.

Maureen Basnicki (left) and her fellow group of Canadian volunteers celebrates a victory – packing more boxes than any other group on the Intrepid floor. Over two million meals will be provided to City Harvest. Photo by: Maureen Mullarkey

“This is my second year. I drove down from Canada and my son flew in from Lisbon, Portugal,” said Maureeen Basnicki, who works with the Canadian consulate and lost her husband on  9/11. “It’s a national day of service in Canada and it’s gaining momentum as well.”

The event also took place in seven other cities throughout the country, including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Atlanta, St. Louis and Phoenix. Together, more than 5,000 volunteers will have participated in the federally-recognized September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance.

“Whether we’re remembering those who served our country, or just remembering the first responders, firefighters, police, it really doesn’t matter what nationality you are, it’s the combined spirit of doing it,” said Basnicki.

“The best legacy that we can leave for our loved ones is to honor their life by doing acts of service.”

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Volunteers Fuel Ocasio-Cortez's Congressional Campaign from Pavement Pieces on Vimeo.

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In the wake of two major hurricanes and ongoing forest fires stretching from Los Angeles to Montana and parts of Canada, survivors of a different sort of terror have a message: Don’t lose hope. On the 16th anniversary of 9/11 today, volunteers gathered in the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum for the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance — a project that promotes unity after tragedy.

Nearly 3,000 volunteers were put into groups of 10, where they assisted in the speedy packaging of meals that can be made just by adding water. The goal was that 80,000 of the 550,000 meals would be sent to help places affected by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

The event, also called 9/11 Day, was put on by MyGoodDeed, which was started by two friends, David Paine and Jay Winuk. Paine lost friends to the 9/11 terrorist attack and Winuk lost his brother, a volunteer firefighter who ran into the south tower.

The friends came together because they wanted to change this into a day of service instead of just sadness. Aside from six moments of silence throughout the day to remember the times of the attacks, the atmosphere was lively, with upbeat music and performances by cast members of the Tony Award-winning musical, “Come From Away.”

“I think the biggest lesson for me is that tragedy is awful, and there is suffering and there is loss, but it does so often bring out the absolute best in people,” said Jennifer Burke, the National Program Director for 9/11 Day. “You know, we’ve seen that through Harvey and through Irma, such incredible acts of kindness and selflessness.”

According to Burke, who has been working with the organization for 12 years, last year they decided to do something bigger by partnering with U.S. Hunger and New York Cares. These companies help train volunteers and efficiently deal with packaging and distribution.

“Those initial service events, they were small,” she said. “In the early days our mission was more about spreading the message about the need to rekindle the spirit of unity, and to get others on board with that. It was a different time. It’s an incredible thing to see, 12 years later, to see people recognizing today in this way. We hope it will continue forever.”

Many of the volunteers have unforgettable memories of 9/11 that have shaped their desire to give back.

Alain LaFontant, a volunteer, said he remembers when the towers crashed. He had just walked into his midtown office and some coworkers told him what happened. He immediately called his fiance. He spent the rest of the day wandering around the city with his fiance and his friend trying to get home.

“People, with all their differences, and native New Yorkers — no matter how rude or short we can be with each other —but at that time people were very willing to lend a helping hand,” said LaFontant. “I remember finally when we got home, people on the train giving up their seats. Just being a better human being and at the end of the day, that we’re all in this together.”

Another volunteer, Christine Cohen, was working in sales on 41st Street and Broadway when the towers were struck. She remembered how the desk phones started ringing off the hook and her frantic cousin on the line telling her that her uncle worked near the towers.  She recalled her coworkers turning on AM radio just as her sister came into the office and said, “you gotta leave.” Cohen and her sister walked down to her Murray Hill apartment to meet their mother. She said the people walking past them, walking northbound from the Financial District, were covered in soot.

“The street lights were out,” she said. “The traffic was so congested, but no one blew their horn. Nobody was talking. It was shellshock on everyone’s faces. Paper flying everywhere, dust particles.”

Cohen said she learned a lot about life after that day, and had a message of assurance to those who have recently experienced trauma.

“Come together, stay calm, and have some hope,” she said. “Then when all is said and done, pay it forward.”

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Since the collapse of the World Trade Center 16 years ago, “The little church that stood,” also known as St. Paul’s Chapel, has become a beacon of hope for many. It served as a relief center for Ground Zero recovery workers until May 2002. And it’s mission is what Rev. Dr. William Lupfer, the rector of Trinity Church, called “the healing of memories” through physical and spiritual relief.

For years, people have been coming back to St. Paul’s Chapel on the 9/11 anniversary to remember. It stands just steps from Ground Zero, and miraculously, suffered no damage.

Chester Johnson is a poet who served on the governing board of the Trinity Church, which operates the chapel. He worked as a volunteer during the aftermath of the attacks.

On 9/11 Johnson was downtown, trapped for hours in his consulting firm not far from the south tower.

“What St. Paul represented to us and to the recovery workers was the reverse of what happened at Ground Zero,” said Johnson. “There was so much hate and evil in the attacks and St. Paul’s was a fountain of hope.”

During the 8-month cleanup the chapel was open 24/7 to workers who came to sleep in the pews and have a warm meal. The pews, scratched from the tools of rescue workers and volunteers are a memorial to the men and women who spent days and months at Ground Zero, searching for survivors amid the rubble and clearing the catastrophic site.

What these recovery workers needed more than anything were boots and foot care. The pit in Ground Zero was still burning as they worked and the scalding heat of the pile melted their shoes.

“I remember a high school sports coach from Alabama, he would gather up boots, put’em in his truck and drive up to New York City to bring them to St. Paul’s,” said Johnson.

Among torment and loss, St. Paul’s Chapel served as a sanctuary that brought people together.

“Seeing the big burly guys – these are tough guys – and just seeing their foot care, how their physical souls were taken care of, I think was an outward sign of what it meant,” said Lupfer.

After 9/11, the fence around St. Paul’s Chapel was emblazoned with pictures of people who died in the attack, poems and even pieces of clothing. Johnson wrote of  a “litter of the heart” in his “signature poem called “St. Paul Chapel” which has been used as a memento card of the memorial since 2002.

During the months of recovery, more than 10,000 volunteers worked at St. Paul’s. Doctors were giving out aspirin, helpers were offering parkas and head warmers if it got cold, priests were saying prayers and music echoed in the chapel, lifting spirits up. And as “a rescuer reaches for a stuffed toy to collect a touch,” Johnson’s poem reads, people kept bringing in tokens to commemorate the tragedy, making St. Paul’s Chapel a symbol of resilience and harmony.

“People think ‘can I reach closure?’ But the scripture doesn’t say we need closure, coming back every year is our form of being comforted,” said Johnson, referring to the passage in the Bible that reads “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.”

“It’s a never-ending healing process, for the memory will never fade away,” he said

This morning, as the Bell of Hope resounded through the air, “The little church that stood” reminded passersby of its survival. And Johnson recited his poem. “It stood. Not a window broken. Not a stone dislodged. It stood, when nothing else did. It stood when terrorists brought September down.”

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Volunteers came together this Saturday to plant 20,000 trees at Rockaway Community Park, giving new life to the area that was ravaged last year by Superstorm Sandy. Reported by Zahra Ahmed and produced by Nidhi Prakash.

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