Adult and youth volunteers are needed to fill bags of food items for children whose families are experiencing food insecurity. The service event will take place at Friendship Baptist Church of The Colony's Family Life Center, 4396 Main Street, The Colony, Texas 75056. There will be two shifts, 9:00am - 10:30am or 10:30am - 12pm.
Registration is required. CDC guidelines will be adhered to including masks and social distancing.
Who Was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister from Atlanta, Georgia who made history as a civil rights activist in the 1950s and 1960s. He dedicated his life to advocating for desegregation, the right to vote, and labor rights—freedoms the Black community did not have at the time.
He spent his life preaching Christian values and organizing non-violent protests across the South. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and organized the famous March on Washington in 1963, where he gave the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. In 1964 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial inequality through nonviolent measures.
In 1968, Dr. King was in Memphis, Tennessee organizing a national campaign when he was assassinated. Following his death, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
What Is Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
Although Dr. King was killed more than 50 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day) wasn't declared an official holiday until recently. In 1983, it was approved as a federal holiday, but it wasn't declared a state government holiday until the year 2000.
The holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of January—which was chosen so that the holiday would fall around Dr. King's birthday on January 15. Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2022 is Monday, January 17.
Because Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a holiday meant to honor King's fight for racial equality, it's the only federal holiday designated as a 'national day of service.' That means that rather than regular time off, Americans are encouraged to spend MLK day bettering their own communities through volunteer work.
How to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day?
Typically the holiday is celebrated with events, parades, and celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day all across the country. But since we're experiencing a resurgence of the pandemic right now, celebrating by participating in a service project as a volunteer is still the best way to observe the holiday. If you are unable to volunteer outside of your home, there are plenty of ways to volunteer from home or spend the day learning about King's work and listening to his teachings. However you celebrate, remember that the day is intended to highlight not only how far we've come, but how far we still have to go to achieve racial equality.
The Youth Ministry of Friendship is leading the 2022 MLK Day Of Service event on January 17th and will be partnering with LovePacs of Little Elm and Children's Advocacy Center for North Texas.
Source: Better Homes & Garden
