Volunteers Needed for 23rd Annual MLK Day of Service
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition encourage all community members to participate in volunteer service projects for the 23rd annual MLK Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 18, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Youth and youth groups, in particular this year, are encouraged to participate. All volunteers are urged to register for the service task they would like to take part in.
In addition to the volunteer service projects, a free community lunch and celebration in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will take place from 12:30 to 2:20 p.m. in the MCLA Church Street Center. The program will include the presentation of this year's MLK Peacemaker Award to PopCares Inc., in recognition of the difference the nonprofit organization makes in the lives of more than 310 local families who are battling cancer.
According to the event's coordinator, Thomas Alexander, MCLA's Multicultural Education Resource Center coordinator, MCLA students participate and benefit from this day of service year after year.
"They're interacting with others, whether they're working with youth or seniors," Alexander said. "It's people from all different backgrounds gathering to make a difference for their community, and also connecting together with one another. That's a major aspect of the program."
On-site projects at the MCLA Church Street Center include mitten making, a quilting project, a discussion of recent national events entitled "Prejudice and Privilege," assembling military care boxes, putting together meal kits for later distribution by local food pantries to those in need, blanket tying, and making Valentine cards and gifts for the elderly in a local nursing home.
Off-site volunteer locations include the Adams Youth Center, the First Baptist Church in North Adams, the Friendship Food Pantry, Stop and Shop, Good Will, Louison House, Williamstown First Congregational Church, the North Adams YMCA, and local homes in need of winterization. In addition, there will be a special project with Alex Daugherty, that involves light carpentry work for a local family in need, and/or or moving items to benefit a local, future teen center.
The afternoon program at the MCLA Church Street Center will include speakers such as MCLA Interim President James Clemmer, North Adams Mayor Dick Alcombright, state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, D-North Adams, and state Sen. Ben Downing, D-Pittsfield. In addition, there will be performances by local groups.
Those who do not register for a service project online should sign in at 9 a.m. at the Church Street Center, where coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be served. A welcome will take place at 9:30, before participants are directed to their on-site or off-site service assignments.
Teens are welcome. However, parents who feel their younger teens may need to be supervised should accompany them, Alexander said.
The 23rd annual MLK Day of Service is supported annually by hundreds of MCLA students, faculty, staff, clubs and organizations, including the Trailblazer basketball and other teams of student-athletes, and the MCLA Center for Service and Citizenship. Aramark, the college's food service operator, is providing food donations.
For more information, contact Alexander at Thomas.Alexander@mcla.edu; Spencer Moser, director of the MCLA Center for Service and Citizenship, 413-662-5440 or Spencer.Moser@mcla.edu; or Christopher Hantman, MCLA community engagement coordinator, 413-662-5384 or Christopher.Hantman@mcla.edu.
Tags: MCLA, MLK Day, NBCC, volunteers,
