In many ways and in all kinds of venues, South Floridians will take time out to remember the tragedy of Sept. 11 in the most honorable fashion by giving back and taking stock.
School children will collect food for the poor. Strangers will perform good deeds. Families will spend quality time together. Volunteers will give their time to charitable organizations. People of various faiths will bow their heads together in prayer.
Beyond the mourning and the remembrance, South Floridians will mark the one-year anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in the nation's history with a uniquely American trait -- gumption.
Not content to let a murderous series of attacks leave a lasting stain on the American spirit, some area residents will spend at least part of the day contributing to an uplifting tide of volunteerism and unification. With a helping hand and a loving heart, they hope to thumb their nose at terrorism.
How to heal
"The wound to our society was so great, so immense, that it left us frozen in our tracks, so we had to get to the question of how to make the world whole again," said Rabbi Alan Sherman, community chaplain of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. "The cumulative effects of [volunteerism] is not just in good deeds, but also in repairing the wounds together, in uniting people emotionally through this."
It is a lesson Delray Beach resident John Dassie has taken to heart over the past year, taking on 20 or so volunteer projects, from cleaning non-native plant shrubbery in natural preserves to organizing back-to-school events for area children.
"What can I do to increase my giving back to society?" Dassie, 32, said he asked himself after the terrorist attacks. When he came upon his answer, he wanted to include his teenage nieces and nephew, hoping to teach them: "If someone is less fortunate than you, a helping hand can go a long way. Giving back not only helps others, it helps you, too."
That positive spirit has become perhaps the most durable legacy, both locally and nationally, of one of the most horrific days in U.S. history.
And it is catching on with Americans of all ages. A new study conducted by a Washington, D.C.-based research group showed that Americans aged 50 to 75 are turning out in record numbers to serve their communities, with 40 percent saying the terrorist attacks have made them more likely to volunteer.
At the Palm Beach County chapter of the American Red Cross, more than 70 percent of the 450 volunteers who responded after Sept. 11 have stayed on as active participants in the program, said Executive Director Dean Dimke.
"I think a lot of people felt helpless in some way after Sept. 11 and wanted to do something," said Dianne Laubert, spokeswoman for the United Way of Palm Beach County. "Still to this day, they're asking, `How can I do something, what can I do?'"
The United Way and dozens of other nonprofit, private and public agencies have come up with their own answer.
Before congregating at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter on Sept. 11 for an evening of reflection, Palm Beach County groups are asking residents -- indeed any American -- to perform a good deed for a neighbor, friend or stranger, or volunteer at area charities.
The students at Boca Raton Middle School are not waiting for the one-year anniversary to start giving.
At the beginning of the school year, students were encouraged to perform "random acts of kindness" that would be recorded on a flag of red, white and blue cards assembled on a hallway wall within the next two weeks.
"They don't have to be big things," said Principal Peter Licata. "If a student carries groceries for their neighbor, brings home homework for an absent student, or buys a soda for someone who doesn't have money," that suffices as a good deed.
The Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach also is reminding its parishioners that Sept. 11 should be as much about family as it is about society. Aside from encouraging Catholics to perform good deeds, the diocese is asking them to spend quality time with loved ones.
"I think we have to take stock in our lives and in the importance of family," said diocese spokesman Deacon Sam Barbaro, adding that Sept. 11 "brings into real close focus how important it is to be together and love and support one another."
Much like the days and weeks after Sept. 11 saw strangers and friends coming together to make sense of the madness, the one-year anniversary will witness a wide array of gatherings across South Florida, as people join one another to remember what they've lost and what they've gained.
Bells will toll the many lives lost. Memorial gardens and trees of life will spring from the memory of the dead. Candles will burn solemnly and moments of silence will quiet the nation at the exact moments the first plane hit the World Trade Center and when the second Twin Tower fell.
In Fort Lauderdale, 11 firehouses across the city will raise a flag, hold an invocation and sing the national anthem and Amazing Grace.
At Florida Atlantic University's Boca Raton campus, New York will come home to South Florida in a photo exhibit of stirring images of the World Trade Center site.
So no one will forget, the Toussaint L'Ouverture High School will plant a time capsule behind the Delray Beach charter school before a candlelight poetry reading.
Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams, whose city will sponsor a ceremony and concert, said the trick in offering the commemorations will be in striking an effective balance.
"The tone is important," he said. "I think that we can come up with a good way to commemorate the tragedy that happened but still be upbeat and optimistic about our country's future."