U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton awards Andrew DeFranza of Beverly the Peter J. Gomes Service award on Sunday. Photo by Paula Muller
By Gayla Cawley
LYNN — For Americans, Sept. 11 is a day of remembrance for the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history. But it has served a dual purpose since Congress declared it a National Day of Service in 2009.
Sunday marked the 15th anniversary of the coordinated attacks by al-Qaeda, an Islamic terrorist group, where two planes flew into the former World Trade Center in New York City and one flew into the Pentagon, near Washington D.C. A fourth hijacked plane was headed for Washington D.C., but crashed in a Pennsylvania field after its passengers attempted to overtake the hijackers.
In Lynn, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) helped mark the anniversary Sunday morning at English High School by hosting a day of service and announcing the inaugural winner of the Peter J. Gomes Service Award.
“One thing about Sept. 11 is that for everybody who lived through it, each one of us has a story where we remember where we were on that day,” Moulton said. “Everyone has a certain way in which this terrible tragedy has affected our lives going forward. And for me…I think about not just Sept. 11 but Sept. 12, how just after this unspeakable tragedy that none of us could have imagined, everybody in America came together. We came together to help the victims. We came together to volunteer. We came together to try to make the world a little bit better place.”
Moulton said he made the decision to join the military shortly before Sept. 11. His influences were his attendance at Harvard University; The Memorial Church at Harvard, and Gomes, a professor and minister.
He joined the United States Marine Corps after graduating college in June, 2001. Following the 9/11 attacks, Moulton said he was “ready to try to prevent another 9/11 from happening.”
The Peter J. Gomes award will be given annually to a 6th District resident who best epitomizes the qualities of integrity, compassion and commitment to community and service that represent the Gomes’ teachings.
Moulton announced the first winner on Sunday: Andrew DeFranza of Beverly.
DeFranza is executive director and founder of Harborlight Community Partners, a low-income housing provider. Five other finalists included Kit Jenkins, executive director and one of the founders of Raw Art Works, and Rev. Art McDonald, a minister at the First Universalist Church of Essex. Both are from Lynn.
Moulton said DeFranza was selected because of his commitment to providing affordable housing on the North Shore, which helps people get off the streets and gives them a chance of hope for a brighter future.
DeFranza said Harborlight is actually collection of other people’s energy and efforts. He said he was glad to be representing the organization.
“I want to encourage everybody that we’re all making a difference,” DeFranza said. “We’re all able to do it.”
Following the award ceremony, volunteers started their day of service, serving at Raw Art Works, The Food Project, The Backpack Program and Tech SkillsUSA. Volunteers created a service-themed mural at RAW, built and maintained gardens at the Food Project, assembled backpack care packages and made care packages for first responders at Tech SkillsUSA.
Austin Jagodynski, 17, works at RAW and said he volunteered on Sunday to help get the mural painted and to build a sense of community.
Sharon Giardino, 25, a New Jersey native living in Salem, volunteered with the Food Project.
“It’s a significant day for the community I grew up in,” Giardino said of 9/11. “I just want to give back, especially in the community I’m in now.”
Sasha Megie, 17, of Lynn, works with the Food Project and volunteered on Sunday.
“The work’s not going to get done if everybody doesn’t get involved,” she said. “We have to put a conscious effort into rebuilding our community if we ever want to see a change in our community.”
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.
