Area Authority Seventy Elder Tom Thomas set the tone for Henderson, Nevada’s 9/11 Community Day of Service by describing how first responders ran toward the burning Twin Towers and climbed the stairs, wanting to save lives. 

Now, 25 years later, Elder Thomas said, the estimated 500 volunteers gathered at Cornerstone Park in Henderson for a day of service were honoring the sacrifice of those first responders by coming together to serve their community. He recognized the first responders in attendance and urged volunteers to give them a hug. 

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo headlined the list of dignitaries attending the event. In his remarks, he recognized the need to honor first responders and others who died on 9/11 by setting aside time to serve others.  

“But unfortunately, we need more than just a day,” he said. “If we could create momentum throughout the year, we could have a day of service every day of the year.” 

An estimated 2,000 volunteers, by far the most ever to participate in the Day of Service, attended a breakfast and opening ceremonies before spreading out to work on 35 different service projects at 14 locations across the city, including churches of various faiths. 

Volunteers included families, two high school football teams, members from a variety of faiths, community members and missionaries from the Henderson Nevada Mission. They cleaned up trails, assembled hygiene and welcome kits, made blankets, donated blood, made teddy bears, built beds and collected and sorted books and crayons. 

This year’s Day of Service was unique in the diversity of faiths and organizations involved in the planning and implementation of the event. One faith planned and hosted its own project while two other faiths partnered with local Henderson stakes on other projects. The planning committee involved the Henderson Coordinating Council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and JustServe. The City of Henderson provided the venue, stage, advertising and manpower throughout the day. The Henderson Faith Coalition Initiative promoted the event to local churches.

Elder Thomas conducted the opening ceremonies, which included an impressive group of dignitaries, including Nevada Rep. Dina Titus, Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero, members of the City Council, the police and fire chiefs, Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson, and HFCI members Father John Assalone and Paster Paul Block. 

Rep. Titus said the purpose of the event was to bring people of various faiths and backgrounds together to perform service in the community. 

“Many of you will be going to different places,” she said, “some of you lucky enough to be indoors and others, probably the young among us will be outdoors in our parks and our beautiful community areas.”

Lydia and Savanah Blonquist were two of those young volunteers. They worked with their father, Andru, cleaning up the trails around Acacia Park in Henderson. 

“It was definitely hot,” Savanah said. 

Asked if she found anything interesting, she held up a golf ball, padlock and a square block of metal, acknowledging, “I don’t know what this is.” 

Her sister, Lydia, proudly displayed a dollar bill she had found. Their father’s treasure was black bag full of garbage.

“We use JustServe a lot so it’s nice to come and give back a little bit to the community and help clean up spaces that we use on a regular basis,” Andru said. “We’re doing it as a family, too.”

His wife, Marilee, Black Mountain Stake relief society president, was back at Cornerstone Park, helping with the cleanup

At the opening ceremonies, City Councilman Dan Stewart marveled at how the event had grown in size since its humble beginnings in 2024. He also cited the increase in the number of faith leaders participating. In a meeting earlier this year, he said Elder Thomas had wondered whether a coalition of city and faith leaders could be organized in the city. Out of that discussion emerged the Henderson Faith Community Initiative, which now meets monthly to discuss common needs and concerns.

Paul Block of the New Song Lutheran Church and a HFCI member, sported a tee shirt with Community Day of Service on the front and JustServe on the back. He told how he learned about the attacks on the Trade Center while attending an interfaith meeting in Harlem on Sept. 11, 2001. All transportation shut down, and he struggled to get home. He later served as a volunteer pastoral chaplain for a day at Ground Zero.

“I will never forget an ocean of scrap metal and rubble as far as I can see,” he said. 

On top of that ocean of rubble, however, he saw little groups of volunteers, first responders from every state in the country, including, he later learned, a contingent from Nevada. 

“It brought me to tears to see that in this time of trial we came together as a nation,” he said. 

Following Block’s remarks, City Councilman Jim Seebock honored Henderson’s Fire Chief Scott Vivier and Police Chief Reggie Rader. 

“When you see a first responder,” Seebock said, “thank them for what they do every day to serve our community and put their lives on the line.”

Mayor Romero also praised the volunteers and the first responders, recognizing both groups for the work they do in the community. 

The ceremony ended with Elder Thomas urging the volunteers to visit JustServe.org, promising they would find a host of opportunities to serve. 

He then returned to his earlier challenge for volunteers to hug a first responder.  

“If you’re embarrassed about hugging a first responder,” Elder Thomas said, “handshakes, fist bumps, all of the above work.”