As part of 9/11 Day's national "UNIITE For Good" initiative, the Philadelphia Eagles hosted a large-scale meal-packing event at Lincoln Financial Field for a fifth straight year. More than 2,200 volunteers from local corporate partners, the Eagles organization, and nonprofits came together to pack one million meals for families experiencing hunger.

"Twenty-five years after September 11, the spirit of service and coming together for others remains as important as ever. The Tri-State Toyota Dealers are proud to support the Eagles' Meal Pack for the fifth consecutive year and help bring our community together to make a meaningful impact. Packing one million meals is an incredible accomplishment, and we're honored to be part of it," said Paul Muller, the President, Tri-State Toyota Dealers Association.

Eagles fans Emily Root Schenkel and her father, Ed Root, opened the event by sharing a few words about remembrance, service, and their family member Lorraine Bay - a flight attendant and Eagles fan who was on United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11th.

After departing from Newark Airport en route to San Franscisco, Flight 93 was hijacked and redirected towards Washington D.C., targeting the United States Capitol building. The passengers and crew revolted, forcing the plane to crash near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, saving countless lives.

Now, Ed and Emily work with 9/11 Day to honor Lorraine, who Emily named her daughter after, and those who first responded to the attacks.

"One of the basic needs people have is to eat. So, everybody coming together to provide service to help make sure that everybody's eating is one of the greatest acts of respect and honor that you can do," Emily Root Schenkel said after giving her opening remarks.

"So many people gave their lives that day for love, gave their lives out of courage and coming together and providing service in honor of that is very impactful."

While every year is a time for reflection, 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11th attacks – a quarter century.

"We have been involved with 9/11 Day for a few years now," said Dalila Wilson-Scott, Comcast's Executive Vice President and Chief Impact & Inclusion Officer. "But this year, the 250th anniversary of the country, the 25th anniversary of 9/11, just bringing people together in this moment, the compassion, the spirit ... we believe in year-round service, but when you can really amplify a special moment that means so much to so many people around the country to support families in need, it's a great thing."

With 25 years having passed since September 11th, a whole generation of people in the United States don't remember 9/11 since they were either too young or not yet alive.

"It's important to hold events like this because if you only look at the history, the events of that day, I don't think you get the full picture of everything," Emily Root Schenkel said. "There's the specific history of the timing and what happened with the planes and the terrorists, but even more to that story was what happened afterwards and the sacrifices that people made going into New York and just how the country really came together."

Volunteering and education on 9/11 go hand-in-hand for Ed and Emily. The Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial recently brought in 40 teachers from around the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a three-day seminar on teaching students about 9/11.

"It's a challenge to carry that on, carry on that teaching to the next generation so they understand," Ed Root said. "When we think about 9/11, you think about all the people who ran into danger, not away from it. And it's fitting and proper that we do remember and we honor and we serve."

The packaged meals were donated to Philabundance. The charity estimates that almost 700,000 thousand people across Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey face food insecurity.

"Sports brings people together from the entire region in a way like nothing else does... there is nothing as unifying as the spirit of the Eagles when it comes to having impact," Wilson-Scott said. "We're always thrilled to partner with (the Eagles) because we know they'll use their space, all of their resources, to really amplify it."

Not only is there a time gap between now and September 11, 2001 – there is also a geographical gap as most associate the attacks with New York. The Philadelphia Eagles hosting events like meal packing serve as a way to help bridge that gap.

"Along here in this end of the state, it's closer to New York and Washington in people's minds," Ed Root said. "So, it's one of the reasons we like to take the opportunity to talk about what happened in Western PA as well as what happened in New York and Washington."

"It's a great point for people to realize that places like Arizona and California didn't have that daily impact that we had here close to New York and close to Western PA," Emily added. "So, an organization like the Eagles getting involved with their national influence to help raise awareness is really powerful."

The meal-packing event at Lincoln Financial Field was one of the largest 9/11 National Day of Service events in the country, honoring those who lost their lives from the attacks by giving back, just as first responders did 25 years ago.  - Written by Caroline Connor