BOISE, Idaho — Nearly 400 volunteers gathered at JUMP in downtown Boise Friday to pack 115,500 meals for Idaho neighbors facing food insecurity as part of 9/11 Day, a national day of service and remembrance.
WATCH: Why volunteers are packing over 100,000 meals for Idaho neighbors
Boise is one of 51 communities hosting a large-scale meal pack this year, with more than 50,000 volunteers taking part nationwide. The meals packed in Boise will go to the Idaho Foodbank to help families across the state.
9/11 Day was founded in 2002 after co-founder Jay Winuk lost his brother, Glenn — an attorney and volunteer firefighter — in the September 11th attacks. The founders wanted to preserve the sense of unity and compassion that emerged in the days that followed.
Andrea Sorkin, vice president of national programs for 9/11 Day, said the organization's mission is rooted in that spirit.
"Which was that people just came together to help each other, to help their neighbors, to help their friends, their communities. It wasn't about red states and blue states and things that divide us."
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Jane McLaughlin, volunteer services manager at the Idaho Foodbank, said the community's response reflects a shared commitment to one another.
"Finding our community wanting to give back to the people that they are neighbors with it's just huge to show that we all belong together that we're all here for the common purpose to make sure that everybody can have food across our state."
READ MORE | How the memories of 9/11 are being passed to a new generation in Idaho and beyond
Beyond Friday's meal pack, organizers hope to inspire and log 1 million good deeds across the country.
You can log your own good deed here on the 9/11 Day website.
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