Michigan Volunteers to Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. with Service

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was created by Congress in 1994 and has grown beyond a federal holiday honoring Dr. King into a national day of community service. Each year, service projects are planned across the country to share Dr. King's message of serving others. To help encourage this important movement throughout the state, Governor Rick Snyder has proclaimed January 16 to be the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in Michigan.

Everyone is encouraged to participate in the King Day of Service and all types of service are accepted. The Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC), a supporter of the annual King Day of Service, encourages individuals and/or organizations to search for opportunities in their community by visiting the official MLK Day website at www.MLKDay.gov.  

"Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, 'Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve,'" explained Carolyn Bloodworth, chair of the MCSC board of directors. "Now, more than ever, we hope the annual MLK Day of Service will inspire all of Michigan's citizens to engage in volunteerism to help tackle critical challenges and make a difference in their communities."

To find out about potential projects in your area, visit the above website and search via your ZIP code and the key words "MLK Day." Current available projects include:

• The City of East Lansing's Environmental Stewardship Program, through the Department of Parks, Recreation, and the Arts, is hosting a MLK Service Day at Henry Fine Park on Monday, January 16. Volunteers will be improving trails by distributing wood chips and removing invasive shrubs.
• City Year Detroit, United Way for Southeastern Michigan and The Guidance Center are partnering together to host an MLK Day service project on Monday, January 16 at Ann Visger Elementary School, Sabbath Middle School, River Rouge High School, and Walter White Community Resource Center. Efforts will include mural painting, gardening, organizing, cleaning, and crafting cards to send to active military service members.
• The United Way Volunteer Center of Northwest Michigan is looking for volunteers to read to local elementary school children for their MLK Day Service project on Friday, January 13th. Volunteers will be provided with a book to read about the life and teachings of Dr. King, as well as a short discussion lesson to have with the students and a Live United T-shirt to wear on the day of the event.

Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service efforts are supported by a group of organizations in Michigan; including the MCSC, Michigan Department of Human Services, the Michigan Nonprofit Association, Volunteer Centers of Michigan, Michigan Campus Compact, The LEAGUE Michigan, the Sara A. Ballard Volunteerism Fund, the Corporation for National and Community Service - Michigan Office, and the Michigan Association of United Ways.

For more information on other national days of service, visit www.michigan.gov/volunteer.

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BACKGROUND:

The Michigan Community Service Commission builds a culture of service by providing vision and resources to strengthen communities through volunteerism. In 2011-2012, the MCSC is granting nearly $8 million in federal funds to local communities for volunteer programs and activities. The MCSC is funding 24 AmeriCorps programs, 20 Learn and Serve programs, and seven Volunteer Michigan grantees. The Governor's Service Awards and Mentor Michigan are also premier programs of the MCSC. The MCSC is housed in the Michigan Department of Human Services, whose mission is to assist children, families, and vulnerable adults to be safe, stable, and self-supporting. The Corporation for National and Community Service grants the federal funding the MCSC administers.

Michigan has a long history of volunteering. As part of the 2011 Volunteering in America research, more than 2.1 million volunteers in Michigan dedicated nearly 200 million hours of service to their communities in 2010. Their efforts equated to a monetary contribution of more than $5.7 billion. Michigan has an average of 28.3 percent of citizens volunteering with an average of 34.2 volunteer hours per resident per year.