9/11 Build-a-thon Meets A Solemn Day With A New Kind Of Resolve In Mamaroneck

MAMARONECK, NY — At a tiny church on Old White Plains Road in Mamaroneck, the events honoring 9/11 are decidedly less staid than at the official ceremonies being held just a few blocks away.

Rather than an honor guard and appropriately conservative, respectful outfits, in this tribute to the shared losses of 9/11, the din of band saws, constant hammering of nails and coveralls are the order of the day. The Fuller Center's annual September 11th "Build-a-thon" aims to honor the heroes and victims of the terror attacks by doing what they do best — helping to lift up their neighbors.

For those of us who woke up on the morning of September 11, 2001 and found our lives changed forever, the anniversary of that day has a unique ability to transport us back to the moments when shared shock turned to outrage and grief. For the newest generation of young adults, however, the somber occasion represents a reason to look toward the future, while paying tribute to a tragedy that shaped their world, in many cases, before they were even alive.

"I wasn't born yet when 9/11 happened," one young woman among the army of Fuller Center volunteers explained. "For me, this day has been about making things better."

Most of her peers at the worksite, primarily from Manhattanville College, have similar recollections of the tragic day 21 years earlier. Those who were alive, were far too young to understand what was happening.

If anyone thinks that the younger generation of today is soft, spends all their time staring at screens or demanding participation trophies, they need to see these kids in action, but wear safety gear, because this is a working job site.

At this church, on this day, remembering 9/11 meant framing walls, painting, planting flowers and hanging drywall. That isn't to say the volunteers didn't take the time to respect the gravity of the anniversary.

Power tools were quiet and hammers were down as the names of Manhattanville alumni who were killed when the World Trade Towers fell were read. After a brief moment of silence, the crew was once again hard at work.

For Gianna Timpone, one of the student leaders at Manhattanville's Clark scholar program, September 11, has always been a day of looking to do good.

"I don't have memories of that day," Timpone told Patch. "I think we all feel the weight of it. This is just our way of showing respect."

The sophomore said that it is her personal memories of a more recent disaster that brings her back to Mamaroneck to donate her time nearly every weekend.

"The first time I was here helping with construction; the next week was Ida," Timpone said. "I couldn't believe the devastation. I knew this is where I wanted to be helping. I thought this is somewhere I can do some good."

In fact, the church they are working on was nearly completely gutted from the basement to the rooftop by flooding from Ida. The church is very much a work in progress more than a year after the flooding, but Timpone said the steady progress is encouraging, something unique to this kind of volunteer work.

"Seeing someones's home go from uninhabitable to looking like new," she explained. "There's a real sense of accomplishment that goes along with that."

What the September 11, anniversary means has undeniably changed over the past two decades. For many of us, the date will always remain a day for reflection. For others, it is becoming an opportunity to express our humanity in a way that moves us away from the hate and evil that robbed our nation and our neighbors of so much. More and more, that can mean remembering and volunteering, rather than mourning.

For Fuller Center Of Greater New York Director Jim Killoran, 9/11 has been a day of asking, "how can I help?" from the very start.

"We've been doing this for 21 years now," Killoran said. "That day we were already gathering relief supplies, even before anyone knew how bad it was. That was our 9-11 day of service and we've been doing it every year since."

Killoran's army of volunteers, who spent the day working on homes and buildings across the flats of Mamaroneck, regroup at the Fuller Center's Mamaroneck command center, donated by the neighboring Picone Sausage Company. The building itself was heavily damaged by Ida flooding, but was lovingly restored by the volunteers and pressed into service in the months following Hurricane Ida's arrival.

The Manhattanville College hockey team has been busy helping to restore and protect at a nearby flood-damaged home. Their hard work is evidenced by the fact that the earlier boisterous student athletes have taken on a much more sedate posture after hours on the job.

The cookout that follows a day of good works might not be the call to collective grief that we're used to seeing on the news, but a very familiar sense of coming together as a community is immediately evident.

In our lifetimes, there will always be a need for the catharsis of formal 9-11 memorial ceremonies to give witness to our shared and unshared grief, but in a small fenced lot of a warehouse turned relief command center, it becomes clear that there are as many ways to show respect for those who gave everything as there are stories from a tragic day more than two decades ago. Resolving yourself to help those in need and sharing a burger with new friends most certainly respects those who lost their lives, in many cases, serving us to the very end.

Neighbors stop by from time to time to investigate the activity. Killoran, who it seems has never met a stranger, invites one-and-all to grab something to eat and join the celebration of community and rebuilding. This includes a few with no place of their own to call home. To some, he offers encouragement; to a few, he gives a little tough love and a gentle admonishment about making good choices, but all are welcome.

Killoran takes a moment to emphasize that you don't need to wait for next year's 9/11 anniversary to honor the spirit of the day.

"I never turn a volunteer away, never," Killoran said. "Trust me there's plenty to do. Today is special, but we need people everyday. Volunteerism always goes up following, but there's still work to be done when there isn't a disaster."

People can make a donation to the Fuller Center here. The Fuller Center is still working on projects in the hurricane area and welcomes volunteers anytime.

See Also:

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• 'Food Is Love And We Needed Both' Chef Anna Maria's 9/11 Task
  
• S. Westchester Flood Crisis Stretches First Responders: Photos
• Honoring The Long Road To Ida Recovery And Getting Ready For Tomorrow
• Fuller Center Races To Help Ida Families Before Cold Weather
• 'Significant Damage' As Mamaroneck Flooded By Ida
• 'Some Didn't Have Much More Than Socks;" 125 at Shelter Overnight
• Mamaroneck Chamber Of Commerce Congratulated For 'Miraculous' Recovery
• Village of Mamaroneck Passes $1.36M Resolution For Emergency Dredging
• 'Enough Is Enough,' Lawmakers Demand Flood Mitigation Project
• Community Resource Center Raises Nearly $800K For Ida Recovery