Swarthmore College students, Hope Partnership Middle School (HPMS) students, and the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Need in Deed collaborated to mark the September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. Supported by a grant from 9/11 Day and AmeriCorps, the initiative honored first responders and provided care for those experiencing homelessness.

Need in Deed Associate Director Janet Chance ’87 worked with Henry C. and Charlotte Turner Professor Emerita of Educational Studies Lisa Smulyan ’76 to coordinate the event. That included partnering on campus with Cassandra Conklin ’26, who invited community members to create handmade gratitude cards. Then on September 11, Conklin, Chance, and Need in Deed Executive Director Kyra Atterbury delivered the cards along with potted plants and lasagna to the Swarthmore Fire & Protective Association. 

“This community has allowed me to flourish and find my footing,” says Conklin, a President’s Sustainability Research Fellow (PSRF), who is an environmental studies major with minors in biology and peace & conflict studies from Sussex, N.J. She adds that the project “has provided me with an opportunity to think deeper about who exactly makes up our community, on and off our campus.” 

Chance first connected with Smulyan in 2022 when she audited one of Smulyan's courses. That spring, Smulyan joined Need in Deed’s board, on which she still serves. Their subsequent collaborations — including research projects and new programming for Education Studies’ field placement program — continue to mutually benefit Swatties and the students served by Need in Deed. 

During the week of September 11, fifth and sixth graders from Hope Partnership Middle School in Philadelphia learned about the history of 9/11 and created gratitude cards. The following week, they assembled care packages with essentials for Jane Addams Place, a family shelter in Philadelphia. Over Zoom, HPMS students met with firefighter Claire O’Brien ’18 and Swarthmore EMT volunteer Sylridge Wah ’27, who both shared their experiences as first responders. They also met with Conklin to discuss what they had learned.

“The drive the middle schoolers brought to this project, coupled with the incredible efforts of the team members I have worked with, have all culminated in a project that I hope can inspire others in the future to prioritize community well-being,” Conklin says. “I feel I and other Swarthmore students, with our small involvements, will make a big impact in ensuring those at Jane Addams Place and the Swarthmore Fire & Protective Association feel seen.” 

“It's truly been amazing to see so many different people come together in support of community well-being,” says Associate Director of Wellness Josh Ellow, who also supported the project.

Chance credits the group with really knowing how to put “love and care” into action. “Cass readily joined the planning process and, [with] Josh, ensured we had healthy potted plants for the firefighters' bunk room,” says Chance. “Claire and Sylridge responded to the fifth and sixth graders' questions about first responders with humor and clear examples of the challenges that they face. The students wrote beautiful, detailed letters to the firefighters and to their neighbors at Jane Addams Place. And, thanks to Lisa's creative use of a clothing swap, we donated 12 bags of clothing for kids and other requested items to the shelter.” 

“Caring about your community requires showing it,” Conklin adds, “and that is what this project is about.” 

The September 11 National Day of Service and Remembrance was established in 2009 to honor the memory of those lost, injured, and made ill from the 9/11 attacks, and those who responded on and after the attacks. Inspired by the extraordinary spirit of unity and compassion shown in the days following 9/11, the observance encourages people across the U.S. to perform acts of service, charity, and kindness each year.