A-OK Detroit draws more than 800 volunteers on 9/11 anniversary
Monday, September 19, 2011 at 3:11PM 
Teens served in interfaith groupsOn Sunday, September 11, more than 830 volunteers converged on Detroit's Focus:HOPE campus for a day of community service and intercultural connection called A-OK (Acts of Kindness) Detroit.
A-OK Detroit, designed to transform 9/11 into a day of caring and service, brought together diverse community groups with common missions of unity, peace, and mutual understanding. Supporters included ACCESS, Women's Interfaith Solutions for Dialogue and Outreach in Metro Detroit (WISDOM), the Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit, the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan, City Year Detroit, United Way, J-Serve, the Jewish Community Relations Council, and the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Volunteers planted a tree with a placque reading: "September 11, 2011 - Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 through Community Connection and Dialogue." After a kick-off rally led by dignitaries including William Jones, CEO of Focus:HOPE, Annie Ellington, Chief Service Officer for the City of Detroit, Hassan Jaber, CEO of ACCESS, and Asim Mishra from the Corporation for National and Community Service in Washington D.C., volunteers cleaned up the Focus:HOPE campus and packed food for the hungry. Chinese transfer students from the University of Michigan-Dearborn worked alongside Arab Americans, and Christians and Jews worked beside Muslims and Buddhists in a spirit of respect and harmony.