MORRISVILLE, Vt. -
Most Americans vow to never forget where they stood, what they saw and how they felt on Sept. 11, 2001.
"I was sitting at work and someone called me up and said someone flew a plane through the World Trade Center," said Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vermont.
"The feeling of not being able to do something was probably the most disturbing of all," said Karina Ware of the United Way.
So this year Ware and hundreds of volunteers are doing something-- an act of public service to honor those who lost their lives that fateful day.
"Our country will never forget it, but we've been able to put it behind us in a way that's been really positive," Ware said.
More than 160 cords of wood have been donated to the United Way in Morrisville to help families who can't afford their fuel bills this winter. It's the fifth annual event of this nature.
There's more momentum this year than in years past. They've already collected more than double the amount of wood as they had this time last year, which might have something to do with the fact this is the first time they've used this event to commemorate Sept. 11.
"United Way is really the organization that figures out who needs us and how we can help," Shumlin said.
Karina Ware now works for United Way in Vermont, but back in 2001 she saw terror up close; she lived in a New Jersey suburb outside New York City.
"It was a day where everyone was holding their breath and waiting for their loved ones to come home, waiting to hear some word," Ware said.
She knew friends and neighbors who worked in the towers and sat with them as they waited for answers.
"My neighbors two doors over had a very small baby and her husband had gone to work and he worked in the towers every day. I just remember her being on the front porch and just not knowing," Ware said.
Fortunately for Ware her loved ones did make it out safely, but she knows all too well many were not that lucky. That's what propels her to take a stand and do some good, rather than simply remembering the day that stopped a nation in its tracks.
