MLK Day

Michiganders make big impact on MLK Day 

Michiganders came together across the state on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to serve others and uplift their communities.

“It’s a powerful reminder that service builds connection as much as it meets immediate needs,” said Ali Mangiapane of Lighthouse in Oakland County.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, the Michigan Community Service Commission is excited to announce that 20 volunteer projects recently occurred to address food insecurity, homelessness, environmental stewardship, and other community needs throughout the state. These projects engaged more than 4,000 volunteers in nearly 11,000 service hours.

To support these efforts, the Michigan Community Service Commission awarded $9,600 in grants ranging from $100 to $1,000.

“The Michigan Community Service Commission’s grant was instrumental in helping us coordinate this effort and ensure we had the resources needed to make the day productive and meaningful,” Mangiapane said.

The food bank hosted an event where volunteers helped sort and package food, restock shelves, and prepare items for families who rely on the pantry each week.

“Support like this allows us to engage more volunteers, operate more efficiently, and ultimately reach more families,” Mangiapane said. “Coming together on MLK Day reinforced how much stronger we are when community members show up alongside us.”

Many of the service projects were inspired by Dr. King’s legacy, and some included art installations, performances, and speeches to honor him and his continued impact today.

“Volunteerism helps bring us together to realize we aren’t that different,” said Ginna Holmes, the executive director of the Michigan Community Service Commission. “We are proud to support organizations across the state to engage volunteers in helping their communities, especially on meaningful days like MLK Day.”

Alma College volunteers helped to assemble 300 meal kits for the Community Cabinet and participated in its MLK Day Campus and Community Celebration, complete with food, music, student speeches, and a keynote address.

"It was beautiful to watch people give their time that they could have easily spent doing anything else, to help people around them in need,” said Alma College first-year student Shai Curtiss.

United Way of Bay County hosted its Feeding the Dream project, where volunteers made 400 meal bags and created encouraging notes.

“This is a project I would love to do again because we know childhood hunger is not only apparent in Bay County, but across our country,” said Gina Huynh.

“All of us at United Way of Bay County are constantly striving to ensure that all of our community members, regardless of background or demographics, have access to the resources they need to succeed.”

Stacey Abbs, a counselor at Garber High School, witnessed the impact of the project firsthand. She said a highlight of the project was witnessing National Honor Society students take an active role in organizing and assembling many of the food bags.

“Multiple students expressed how impactful it was to realize that some of their peers quietly face food insecurity, and how meaningful it felt to help meet that need,” Abbs said.

“It reflected Dr. King’s belief in service, equity, and shared responsibility. This was not just about collecting food, but about our community coming together to care for one another.”

These are just a few testimonies of this year's service in honor of Dr. King’s legacy. A few others include:

• Youth volunteers with Barry County United Way assembled 275 meal kits and created recipe cards to help stretch shelf-stable ingredients further.
• Zeta Beta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority hosted a free laundry day where 33 loads of laundry were washed free of charge for community members. Volunteers also assembled emergency kits for local elderly women.
• Vision Fair Foundation held a winter gear drive for local youth, and volunteers cleaned classrooms and facilitated storytelling and craft projects inspired by Dr. King’s teachings and legacy.
• Pen Enrichment Community Center, in partnership with ChristNet and the Clean Love Project, hosted an emergency care item drive for the community members throughout January, and distributed 300 warming and feminine care kits on MLK Day.
• Macomb Foster Closet hosted a youth-led Stock The Pantry Project where volunteers helped prepare the organization’s new community food pantry.
• Volunteers with the AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program at Wayne State University’s Center for Urban Studies took part in many service projects in honor of MLK Day, including distributing non-perishable food boxes, winter and hygiene kits, and auto theft prevention resources. Residents also received health assessments and home safety assessments.
• Youth volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club of Alpena worked with Friends Together to build Bundles of Healing for those going through cancer treatments and made cards for patients.
• All Things Women Inc. distributed 50 meals to local unhoused women and improved its shelter space to help more unhoused women in the future.
• My Sister's Keeper, in partnership with My Brother’s Keeper, hosted the I Have a Dream That My Environment is CLEAN project with learning stations about food waste, energy efficiency, air quality, and other environmental initiatives. Youth volunteers also performed as “Drum Majors for Justice.”
• The Children’s Center of Wayne, Inc. enlisted volunteers to help assemble and create a workstation for its boutique, which provides free clothing for children and families.
• Allen Neighborhood Center hosted multiple projects where volunteers cleaned and prepared the Veggie Box Community Supported Agriculture program to provide residents with fresh food, cleaned and readied the space for the Incubator Kitchen Program, handed out food to neighbors through the BreadBasket Food Pantry, and delivered the Center’s seasonal newsletter to residents.

Projects addressing Food Insecurity and Personal Needs 

Projects Focused on Environment and Neighborhoods 

Projects Focused on Mentoring