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US marks 9/11 by doing "good deeds"
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-12 09:41

In New York City, volunteers joined mourners in a ceremony at the former World Trade Center where more than 2,000 were killed in the 9/11 attacks.

Among dozens of projects across the city, volunteers will revitalize Jenny's Garden in Riverside Park and join in literacy projects with students at the A. Philip Randolph School.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg praised the newly established Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.

"The city of New York has taken up that call. From this day forward, we will guard the memories of those who died by rekindling the spirit of service," he said.

US marks 9/11 by doing
Photo taken on Sept. 11, 2009 shows the construction site of the new World Trade Center in New York, the U.S.. The eighth anniversary commemoration of the 9/11 attacks is held at the Ground Zero in New York on Friday to remember those who lost their lives in the attacks, which killed more than 2,700 people with the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. (Xinhua/Gu Xinrong) 

In Boston, Mass, volunteers gathered to stuff packages and write letters to military personnel serving overseas and donate items for veteran programs.

In Seattle, Wa., 9,000 volunteers, including 4,000 Microsoft employees, are serving on projects ranging from habitat restoration and neighborhood cleanups to renovating a child care center.

In various cities of North Carolina, hundreds of volunteers are collecting and assembling "Connection Packages" with school supplies, stationary, disposable cameras, and other tools to help children communicate with parents or family members who are deployed overseas.

A number of U.S. companies are participating volunteer projects on the day.

Hasbro, Inc. employees assembled supplies for families of people with HIV virus in Zambia and birthday kits for homeless children in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Target Inc. sent teams to design school library makeover projects at 16 schools across the country.

Some individuals are doing their own "good deeds".

In Atlanta, Georgia, Lillie Love and her friends put together and deliver goody baskets to fire and police stations as a way of paying tribute to the first responders who worked tirelessly in 9/11 attacks and the days and weeks following.

In Chicago, Illinois, Tiffany Bohm and her classmates kicked off a semester-long service project to collect 2,974 pairs of shoes, representing each person lost in the 9/11 attacks, to donate to a homeless shelter.