September 1, 2024 • 15 mins
Original Air Date: September 1, 2024
Every 9/11 anniversary, people feel helpless when it comes to how to make a difference to mark the day. Jay Winuk, who lost his volunteer firefighter younger brother on 9/11, has orgaznied 9/11 day. It’s a day for everyone to do some good, whether organized or solo. Go to 911day.org.
Every 9/11 anniversary, people feel helpless when it comes to how to make a difference to mark the day. Jay Winuk, who lost his volunteer firefighter younger brother on 9/11, has orgaznied 9/11 day. It’s a day for everyone to do some good, whether organized or solo. Go to 911day.org.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, conversations about issues that matter.
Here's your host, three time Greasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We are just days away from the twenty third anniversary
of nine to eleven and joining me this morning again
as he does every year, Jay Winnick is a co
founder of nine to eleven Day National Day of Service,
and this is a completely personal matter to Jay as
(00:33):
he lost his brother on nine eleven And again, Jay,
my condolences and can you retell the story for the
listeners who are unaware of You know, every story I
hear is an extraordinary story. But your brother was a
volunteer firefighter but also a lawyer and he just went
into firefighter mode on September eleventh.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Yes, thank you for having me. Glenn was a partner
at the law firm Holland A Knight and those offices,
those law firm offices were located at one ninety five Broadway,
which is just a few blocks from the Trade Center.
That morning, Glenn helped evacuate the Hollanda Night Law offices
(01:20):
and then headed on foot into the South Tower. As
he was a twenty year volunteer firefighter and emt in
our hometown of Jericho on Long Island. So you know
that was Glenn, But that's not just Glenn. That's all firefighters, right,
they run into danger. They're remarkable people and I don't
(01:41):
know where we'd be without them this time. Of course,
he didn't get to come home, So I consider him
an American hero and he's he was an extraordinary person.
He lived his life in very special ways.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
How old was he?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
He was forty, when my younger brother by three years.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
And how did you come up with the idea for
nine to eleven day?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
My friend and colleague in the public relations business, David Payne,
actually suggested the idea, and he was inspired by the spontaneous,
immediate reaction of people stepping forward all over the country
and all over the world in response to the attacks.
(02:33):
There was anybody who was alive at the time certainly
remembers the feeling of goodwill and compassion and common humanity
that we all experienced. And David and I had known
each other for some years. He called me from California,
where he had moved to from New York because he
had been thinking about this idea of trying to create
(02:56):
a grassroots movement where people each year and nine eleven
on the anniversary tried to do some good deeds, and
that was the genesis of it. I thought it was
a great idea. Glenn lived his life in service to
other people. He died in service to other people, and
to me it made sense, and so we were often running.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
And this has become one of the biggest participatory days
on the calendar today.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
It is the anniversary of nine to eleven each year,
which is now one of only two days of service
recognized under federal law, along with MLK Day. Is the
largest annual day of charitable engagement in the nation and
in the history of our nation. Tens of millions of
people now mark the day by doing good deeds and
(03:53):
charitable work, and it has grown into something pretty extraordinary.
I have to tell you we're very gratified by it.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
It's particularly important, I feel because on every nine eleven anniversary,
people feel a sense of frustration. They feel like this
is horrible and there's just one day where we're all
thinking of it, But what could I do? And you
(04:23):
have given them something to do.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Well. You're kind to say that, but I think we have. Yes.
I can't tell you how many people over the years
have thanked David and me and our staff and the
organization for building this observance, for giving people a way
to appropriately mark the day. But it's not just a
(04:51):
day of remembrance. It's a day of giving back. It's
a day where we say the terrorists don't win, they
don't own the day. We own the day, and we're
going to make a difference in the world around us
by pitching in and helping others and either in an
individual way or as part of organized activities of which
(05:11):
there are countless such activities staged in all fifty states.
It's remarkable. But for me, Shelley, it's a good thing
for me personally as a nine to eleven family member
if it gives me the opportunity to encourage, even if
I just have encouraged one person to do something good
(05:32):
for somebody else. That's a great tribute to Glenn and
all the first responders and all the victims and all
of those also who stepped forward in the aftermath of
the attacks, whether it's military personnel or others. It was
a remarkable time in this country, and it was one
focused on compassion and unity, and of course we all
(05:57):
know we need more of that twenty three years.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Later, amen to that. So what can people do specifically
on nine to eleven day National Day of Service.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
We set it up so that people can do things
in their own comfort zone. We don't direct people specifically
to do all one thing, and that's been part of
the secret sauce. You know, it's do something in your
own comfort zone. If you want to make a donation
to your favorite charity, great, If you want to clean
(06:32):
up a local park or a beach grade, if you
want to send letters to the troops, or donate clothing
or eyeglasses or blood, wonderful. If you want to help
an elderly neighbor, grade, or you can join an organized activity.
So many communities throughout the United States, and especially in
the New York region, but so many all over the
(06:53):
country have organized goodwill activities on nine to eleven, either
through your faith group, or your school, or your college,
or your municipality or you know. There are more than
five hundred companies in the country who are now sponsors
and participants in the events that we plan as an organization.
(07:19):
We're packed. We're staging large scale meal packs in twenty
one cities in the United States, so you know, which
I can certainly tell you more about. It's a pretty
remarkable undertaking.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Yes, do tell us about that, and your event here
in New York City is on the intrepid it is.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
And the demand and interest is such that now we're
doing it both on the eleventh and the twelfth of September,
where thousands of New Yorkers will come together and pack
more than a million meals, probably close to two million
meals over the course of the two days, which will
be donated to as they are in each city Feeding
(07:59):
America affiliated food banks for distribution in those cities in
those communities. You know, we started in New York with
just one meal pack on nine to eleven back in
twenty sixteen, and we kept adding more and more cities,
so we'll be in twenty one cities throughout the United
States packing close to nine million meals the volunteers who
(08:19):
come to these meal packs, so it's a pretty extraordinary undertaking,
but very impactful. People really get to make a difference
by participating in these meal packs.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I'm speaking with Jay Winnikee is the co founder of
nine to eleven National Day of Service, which we are
just days away from and I'm assuming because it's so
popular that the event on the Intrepid for the eleventh
and twelfth. Are you all filled up or do you
still need volunteers?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Well, it's you know the shifts. These are two hour
packing ships that run all through the day, from early
in the morning to early evening. Are they do fill up?
So many of the volunteers are actually the employees of
our generous corporate sponsors who help pay for all the
food and the venues and security and everything else that
(09:12):
goes into staging these large scale events. But you know,
throughout the country there are ways to participate in the
meal packs in certain cities. What we do is we
encourage people to go to nine to eleven Day dot
org and check out not only this opportunities, but also
learn about the observance and ways that people can participate
(09:34):
in so many different ways in this national day of
Service and remembrance.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
We are now twenty three years past nine eleven and
a whole generation. I remember how I felt toward Pearl Harbor.
You know, it was just a day in history. It
wasn't personal when I was growing up, you know, And
I worry that that's going to happen with our kids.
(10:01):
What are we doing to prevent people like me? The
way I viewed Pearl Harbor.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
There's about one hundred million people in this country who
were born since the attacks of nine to eleven. One
hundred million people. So the point you make is a
very important one. And from the outset, our intention was
to create a ritual in this country that could be
handed off from generation to generation so that we ensure
(10:30):
the nation's promise to never forget, and that is indeed unfolding.
The participation in the nine to eleven Day of Service
from young people is really really impressive schools and colleges,
and you know, we have an education program that is
used in thousands and thousands of classrooms by teachers and
(10:52):
other educators and students to teach about the intersection between
you know, community serve nine to eleven and the opportunity
that kids have to make an impact in the world
around them. So it was important to us, to your point,
to not make it just a day of remembrance, but
a day of service also, And we think that's making
(11:15):
a difference because you're right, too many of the important
dates on the calendar people don't even really understand what
they're about. They turn into three day weekends and barbecues,
you know, holidays, and nine to eleven is not a holiday.
It's a day on it's a day of service and remembrance,
and people are actively engaged that you know, more than
thirty million people a year participate and that's growing. So
(11:40):
I think we're in good shape, and there's a lot
more work to be done to ensure that future generations
always know about nine to eleven and that this is
a day of service and remembrance, one that should be
really closely paid attention to and participated in.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
I'm just wondering around the country. Is nine to eleven
a mandatory thing that has to be taught in schools
or is this a district by district thing. I mean,
I really worry about this going away.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
It's a reasonable concern, and in some states the municipalities
teaching nine to eleven is a requirement, and in others
it is not. I think there's a lot more work
to be done throughout the country to ensure that the
history is taught and that it's taught properly, but that
(12:36):
history is not just about how we were attacked, how
our way of life was attacked, but the way the
nation came together in response in ways that were just
really really impressive and meaningful and lasting and are loaded
with lessons really what we can do when we come
(12:56):
together as a people. You know, we weren't Red States
and blues stark it's then we were Americans and that
made a difference. And more of that is needed, and
there is an opportunity to teach that in schools, and
some schools are doing a very good job of that.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
It wasn't just the volunteers and that was extraordinary. What
was extraordinary to me, and it's even hard to describe today,
is the whole spirit in the New York City area changed.
We all came together. There was I for the I
(13:31):
just felt this spirit that I only felt then didn't feel.
Since it's really hard to describe, we really came together
as one.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
You're so right, Shelly, You're so right. I mean I
had never experienced that prior to nine to eleven. And boy,
you know, we all need some more of that now,
don't we. It was from arkable, and it you know,
you see glimpses of it in other tragedies that have
(14:06):
happened since, whether they're natural disasters or man made, but
it's fleeting, you know, it kind of comes and goes,
and yeah, it did dissipate after nine to eleven. You know,
we were together for weeks and some months, and we
do come together in pretty big ways on nine to
eleven each year. But you know, this is this is
(14:29):
something we need all year round. You know, there's always
people in need, of course, and we all feel better
when we pitch in. We all feel better when we
do something for others. Everybody kind of knows that, but
sometimes we need to be reminded of that. But you're right,
(14:49):
it was an amazing phenomenon, not only in New York,
all over the world. Really.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, okay for more information nine to eleven dot org.
Thank you so much, Jay Winnick for all you do.
I always love talking to you.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
You've been listening to Sunsteen sessions on iHeartRadio, a production
of New York's classic rock Q one O four point
three
Welcome to Sunstein Sessions on iHeartRadio, conversations about issues that matter.
Here's your host, three time Greasie Award winner, Shelley Sunstein.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
We are just days away from the twenty third anniversary
of nine to eleven and joining me this morning again
as he does every year, Jay Winnick is a co
founder of nine to eleven Day National Day of Service,
and this is a completely personal matter to Jay as
(00:33):
he lost his brother on nine eleven And again, Jay,
my condolences and can you retell the story for the
listeners who are unaware of You know, every story I
hear is an extraordinary story. But your brother was a
volunteer firefighter but also a lawyer and he just went
into firefighter mode on September eleventh.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Yes, thank you for having me. Glenn was a partner
at the law firm Holland A Knight and those offices,
those law firm offices were located at one ninety five Broadway,
which is just a few blocks from the Trade Center.
That morning, Glenn helped evacuate the Hollanda Night Law offices
(01:20):
and then headed on foot into the South Tower. As
he was a twenty year volunteer firefighter and emt in
our hometown of Jericho on Long Island. So you know
that was Glenn, But that's not just Glenn. That's all firefighters, right,
they run into danger. They're remarkable people and I don't
(01:41):
know where we'd be without them this time. Of course,
he didn't get to come home, So I consider him
an American hero and he's he was an extraordinary person.
He lived his life in very special ways.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
How old was he?
Speaker 3 (01:59):
He was forty, when my younger brother by three years.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
And how did you come up with the idea for
nine to eleven day?
Speaker 3 (02:12):
My friend and colleague in the public relations business, David Payne,
actually suggested the idea, and he was inspired by the spontaneous,
immediate reaction of people stepping forward all over the country
and all over the world in response to the attacks.
(02:33):
There was anybody who was alive at the time certainly
remembers the feeling of goodwill and compassion and common humanity
that we all experienced. And David and I had known
each other for some years. He called me from California,
where he had moved to from New York because he
had been thinking about this idea of trying to create
(02:56):
a grassroots movement where people each year and nine eleven
on the anniversary tried to do some good deeds, and
that was the genesis of it. I thought it was
a great idea. Glenn lived his life in service to
other people. He died in service to other people, and
to me it made sense, and so we were often running.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
And this has become one of the biggest participatory days
on the calendar today.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
It is the anniversary of nine to eleven each year,
which is now one of only two days of service
recognized under federal law, along with MLK Day. Is the
largest annual day of charitable engagement in the nation and
in the history of our nation. Tens of millions of
people now mark the day by doing good deeds and
(03:53):
charitable work, and it has grown into something pretty extraordinary.
I have to tell you we're very gratified by it.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
It's particularly important, I feel because on every nine eleven anniversary,
people feel a sense of frustration. They feel like this
is horrible and there's just one day where we're all
thinking of it, But what could I do? And you
(04:23):
have given them something to do.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
Well. You're kind to say that, but I think we have. Yes.
I can't tell you how many people over the years
have thanked David and me and our staff and the
organization for building this observance, for giving people a way
to appropriately mark the day. But it's not just a
(04:51):
day of remembrance. It's a day of giving back. It's
a day where we say the terrorists don't win, they
don't own the day. We own the day, and we're
going to make a difference in the world around us
by pitching in and helping others and either in an
individual way or as part of organized activities of which
(05:11):
there are countless such activities staged in all fifty states.
It's remarkable. But for me, Shelley, it's a good thing
for me personally as a nine to eleven family member
if it gives me the opportunity to encourage, even if
I just have encouraged one person to do something good
(05:32):
for somebody else. That's a great tribute to Glenn and
all the first responders and all the victims and all
of those also who stepped forward in the aftermath of
the attacks, whether it's military personnel or others. It was
a remarkable time in this country, and it was one
focused on compassion and unity, and of course we all
(05:57):
know we need more of that twenty three years.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
Later, amen to that. So what can people do specifically
on nine to eleven day National Day of Service.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
We set it up so that people can do things
in their own comfort zone. We don't direct people specifically
to do all one thing, and that's been part of
the secret sauce. You know, it's do something in your
own comfort zone. If you want to make a donation
to your favorite charity, great, If you want to clean
(06:32):
up a local park or a beach grade, if you
want to send letters to the troops, or donate clothing
or eyeglasses or blood, wonderful. If you want to help
an elderly neighbor, grade, or you can join an organized activity.
So many communities throughout the United States, and especially in
the New York region, but so many all over the
(06:53):
country have organized goodwill activities on nine to eleven, either
through your faith group, or your school, or your college,
or your municipality or you know. There are more than
five hundred companies in the country who are now sponsors
and participants in the events that we plan as an organization.
(07:19):
We're packed. We're staging large scale meal packs in twenty
one cities in the United States, so you know, which
I can certainly tell you more about. It's a pretty
remarkable undertaking.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Yes, do tell us about that, and your event here
in New York City is on the intrepid it is.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
And the demand and interest is such that now we're
doing it both on the eleventh and the twelfth of September,
where thousands of New Yorkers will come together and pack
more than a million meals, probably close to two million
meals over the course of the two days, which will
be donated to as they are in each city Feeding
(07:59):
America affiliated food banks for distribution in those cities in
those communities. You know, we started in New York with
just one meal pack on nine to eleven back in
twenty sixteen, and we kept adding more and more cities,
so we'll be in twenty one cities throughout the United
States packing close to nine million meals the volunteers who
(08:19):
come to these meal packs, so it's a pretty extraordinary undertaking,
but very impactful. People really get to make a difference
by participating in these meal packs.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I'm speaking with Jay Winnikee is the co founder of
nine to eleven National Day of Service, which we are
just days away from and I'm assuming because it's so
popular that the event on the Intrepid for the eleventh
and twelfth. Are you all filled up or do you
still need volunteers?
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Well, it's you know the shifts. These are two hour
packing ships that run all through the day, from early
in the morning to early evening. Are they do fill up?
So many of the volunteers are actually the employees of
our generous corporate sponsors who help pay for all the
food and the venues and security and everything else that
(09:12):
goes into staging these large scale events. But you know,
throughout the country there are ways to participate in the
meal packs in certain cities. What we do is we
encourage people to go to nine to eleven Day dot
org and check out not only this opportunities, but also
learn about the observance and ways that people can participate
(09:34):
in so many different ways in this national day of
Service and remembrance.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
We are now twenty three years past nine eleven and
a whole generation. I remember how I felt toward Pearl Harbor.
You know, it was just a day in history. It
wasn't personal when I was growing up, you know, And
I worry that that's going to happen with our kids.
(10:01):
What are we doing to prevent people like me? The
way I viewed Pearl Harbor.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
There's about one hundred million people in this country who
were born since the attacks of nine to eleven. One
hundred million people. So the point you make is a
very important one. And from the outset, our intention was
to create a ritual in this country that could be
handed off from generation to generation so that we ensure
(10:30):
the nation's promise to never forget, and that is indeed unfolding.
The participation in the nine to eleven Day of Service
from young people is really really impressive schools and colleges,
and you know, we have an education program that is
used in thousands and thousands of classrooms by teachers and
(10:52):
other educators and students to teach about the intersection between
you know, community serve nine to eleven and the opportunity
that kids have to make an impact in the world
around them. So it was important to us, to your point,
to not make it just a day of remembrance, but
a day of service also, And we think that's making
(11:15):
a difference because you're right, too many of the important
dates on the calendar people don't even really understand what
they're about. They turn into three day weekends and barbecues,
you know, holidays, and nine to eleven is not a holiday.
It's a day on it's a day of service and remembrance,
and people are actively engaged that you know, more than
thirty million people a year participate and that's growing. So
(11:40):
I think we're in good shape, and there's a lot
more work to be done to ensure that future generations
always know about nine to eleven and that this is
a day of service and remembrance, one that should be
really closely paid attention to and participated in.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
I'm just wondering around the country. Is nine to eleven
a mandatory thing that has to be taught in schools
or is this a district by district thing. I mean,
I really worry about this going away.
Speaker 3 (12:16):
It's a reasonable concern, and in some states the municipalities
teaching nine to eleven is a requirement, and in others
it is not. I think there's a lot more work
to be done throughout the country to ensure that the
history is taught and that it's taught properly, but that
(12:36):
history is not just about how we were attacked, how
our way of life was attacked, but the way the
nation came together in response in ways that were just
really really impressive and meaningful and lasting and are loaded
with lessons really what we can do when we come
(12:56):
together as a people. You know, we weren't Red States
and blues stark it's then we were Americans and that
made a difference. And more of that is needed, and
there is an opportunity to teach that in schools, and
some schools are doing a very good job of that.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
It wasn't just the volunteers and that was extraordinary. What
was extraordinary to me, and it's even hard to describe today,
is the whole spirit in the New York City area changed.
We all came together. There was I for the I
(13:31):
just felt this spirit that I only felt then didn't feel.
Since it's really hard to describe, we really came together
as one.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
You're so right, Shelly, You're so right. I mean I
had never experienced that prior to nine to eleven. And boy,
you know, we all need some more of that now,
don't we. It was from arkable, and it you know,
you see glimpses of it in other tragedies that have
(14:06):
happened since, whether they're natural disasters or man made, but
it's fleeting, you know, it kind of comes and goes,
and yeah, it did dissipate after nine to eleven. You know,
we were together for weeks and some months, and we
do come together in pretty big ways on nine to
eleven each year. But you know, this is this is
(14:29):
something we need all year round. You know, there's always
people in need, of course, and we all feel better
when we pitch in. We all feel better when we
do something for others. Everybody kind of knows that, but
sometimes we need to be reminded of that. But you're right,
(14:49):
it was an amazing phenomenon, not only in New York,
all over the world. Really.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah, yeah, okay for more information nine to eleven dot org.
Thank you so much, Jay Winnick for all you do.
I always love talking to you.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
You've been listening to Sunsteen sessions on iHeartRadio, a production
of New York's classic rock Q one O four point
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