Philanthropic Initiative Launched in Honor of Mark Bingham

A California-based national nonprofit organization has launched a philanthropic initiative intended to make September 11 a national day of helping others. One Day's Pay was created in July in honor of Mark Bingham, an openly gay San Francisco resident who was among the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11 who were thought to have prevented the hijackers from reaching their intended target.

The organization is encouraging people from all over the country to register online pledges to permanently set aside September 11 as a national day for helping others. The One Day's Pay Web site asks people who have agreed to spend the day helping others to provide their name, E-mail address, and city of residence. The information is for record-keeping purposes only; all information is kept confidential and not passed on to any other charities or organizations. People can make pledges without knowing specifically what they intend to do that day; to take part they need only to express their good-faith intention to set aside time on September 11 for community service. The site does provide links to several charities, however, and has a section for ideas on ways people can help.

"The goal of One Day's Pay is to honor the remarkable heroism, love for others, and generosity that became so intertwined with the tragedies surrounding the events of September 11," said David Paine, director of One Day's Pay. "People who register pledges decide for themselves how they want to express their commitment to serving others. One Day's Pay is about doing what feels right on a very personal level."

For more information or to submit a pledge, please visit www.onedayspay.org.

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