On this 10th anniversary,
we profile a few of the
many Costco members who
have honored the fallen in
their own ways.
MEMBERconnection
Reflections on 9/11
GARY HE
More than 100 volunteers helped beautify a Lower East Side
New York school as part of the 9/11 National Day of Service
and Remembrance, sponsored by nonprofit My Good Deed.
Good-deed doers
Left: Mary Fetchet
with sons Brad (left)
and Wes (center)
INSPIRED BY the spirit of
unity Americans exhibited
after the September 11 attacks,
Costco member David Paine
wanted to ;nd a long-term
way to pay tribute. “I wanted
to ensure that something good
could come from the horri;c
tragedy,” he says. He shared
the idea with fellow New
Yorker and friend Jay Winuk,
who’d lost his brother, a
volunteer EMT (emergency
medical technician) in the
attack, and My Good Deed
was born.
Already responsible for the
legislation that made Septem-
ber 11 a national day of service
and remembrance, My Good
Deed seeks to inspire ordinary
people to do charitable work or
good deeds. As Winuk says,
“You don’t have to race into a
burning building to be a hero.”
To participate, volunteers need
only to perform a good deed
and record it on the organiza-
tion’s website,
www.mygood
deed.org. Good deeds can be
big or small, Paine says. One
man donated a kidney. A young
girl helped her mother wash
dishes. Both counted, and both
recorded their deeds on My
Good Deed’s website. Since its
inception, more than 1 million
good deeds have been per-
formed worldwide.
“I DIDN’T HAVE to know anyone there
to be absolutely horrified,” says East
Wenatchee, Washington, middle school
science teacher (and Costco member)
Gary Weddle of the events of 9/11.
Weddle decided to stop shaving until
Osama bin Laden
was caught to
remind himself, “looking in the mirror
each morning, that that killer needed
to be brought to justice.” He expected
it to take six months. On May 1, 2011,
nearly 10 years later, Weddle was
finally able to shed the beard.—SF
Before
After
SHARE YOUR STORY
If you have a note, photo or story to share about Costco
or Costco members, email
connection@costco.com
with “The Member Connection” in the subject line,
or send it to: The Member Connection, The Costco
Connection, P.O. Box 4088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088.
Submissions cannot be acknowledged or returned.
MEDIABAKERY
