Friday, January 13, 2012

Utah Residents Mark the Beginning of a Year of Service on MLK Day

Volunteers across the state serve as part of a National Day of Service
 
[Salt Lake City] – The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 16, marks the beginning of the 2012 year of service as millions of Americans honor the memory of Dr. King by contributing their time, talent, voice and money to improve their communities.
 
The Utah Commission on Volunteers and the Corporation for National and Community Service are encouraging local residents to join the hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country in making the holiday “a day on, not a day off”, by serving others.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. committed his life to service and to ensuring that all people are treated with respect and fairness,” said LaDawn Stoddard, Acting Executive Director of the Utah Commission on Volunteers.  “By serving today and throughout the year, we honor Dr. King and help realize his dream of equality and opportunity for all.”

The Utah Commission on Volunteers is working with seven volunteer connector organizations this January to provide opportunities for Utah residents to serve on this year’s MLK Day.
 
MLK Day Activities will be held between Jan 14th and Jan 24th

 
The Cache Valley Volunteer Center and the Utah State University PALs mentoring program will be hosting an “I Have a Dream” reception for at-risk youth in local mentoring programs and students at in the Logan School District will be invited to submit their “I Have a Dream” service project idea based on something they would like to see improved at their school.
 

Volunteers for the Thayne Learning and Service Center at Salt Lake Community College will participate in one of several projects that will include sorting through food donations, assembling food boxes distributed to low-income seniors in the Salt Lake Valley and mobile food boxes distributed to rural parts of the state of Utah. The projects will take place January 16, 2012, 9:00am- 12:00pm.

 
United Way of Northern Utah will partner with Ogden City schools to sponsor an essay contest for 5th graders to complement the core requirement for a five paragraph essay on a US History subject. The topic will highlight a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.. Winners will be published in a publication of Martin Luther King quotes. 

 
The United Way of Salt Lake is partnering with several organizations including the Maliheh Free Clinic, where staff and volunteers will conduct volunteer awareness and recruiting events at various locations. Playworks Salt Lake City will hold a Community Night for training students and families on games they can play with kids for basic conflict resolution strategies.  
 

The Friends of Washington County Volunteer Center, through their Upward Bound program, will host a carnival for veterans and their families, including games, food and a short service by some veterans. The Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) of Washington and Iron Counties will be collecting the food from the stations and packaging it to the appropriate food pantries.

 
Weber State University Community Involvement Center (CIC) will partner with National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in hosting a community breakfast and a Freedom Walk. CIC will also partner with St. Anne’s Homeless Shelter, Anything for a Friend, LINUS Project and Habitat for Humanity for various projects throughout the week.

 
The United Way of Utah County will be hosted a Community Outreach Day on January 16th. Volunteers will come to the BYU Wilkinson Center and sign up for a project between 8:30-9:30 AM, with a devotional from 9:30-10:00 AM and projects lasting until about 12 noon. There will be nearly 30 service projects that people can choose to participate in during the event.

 
To learn more about and participate in these MLK Day activities please visit volunteers.utah.gov.

 
The Corporation for National and Community Service, in partnership with State Service Commissions, sponsors annual MLK Day of Service projects, through local nonprofits. Projects are taking place in all fifty states and include delivering meals, refurbishing schools and community centers, collecting food and clothing, signing up mentors, reading to children, promoting nonviolence, and more. 
 
The mission of the Utah Commission on Volunteers, an Office of the Lieutenant Governor, is to improve communities through service and volunteerism. For more information visit our website www.volunteers.utah.gov

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