"We wanted to make sure the terrorists didn't have the last word in forever defining for generations to how America would remember and observe 9/11," said 9/11 Day and MyGoodDeed co-founder David Paine.

The idea of turning September 11 into an annual day of service was originally conceived in early 2002 by David Paine, at that time a public relations executive who had grown up in New York City.

Jay's younger brother Glenn J. Winuk, at attorney at Holland & Knight LLP, and a volunteer firefighter affiliated with the Jericho Fire Department, had been killed in the line of duty while participating in the rescue efforts.

In 2011, in observance of the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, MyGoodDeed joined with other national service organizations in helping to organize what was then considered to be the largest day of charitable service in U.S. history, with more than 30 million Americans participating, according to research conducted by Horizon Consumer Science on behalf of MyGoodDeed.

Today, 9/11 Day continues to engage over 30 million Americans annually in various forms of charitable service, including volunteering, donations to charities, and simple good deeds.