MLK Day

Michigan volunteers make big impact on MLK Day

Ayesha Potts believes a day of service honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a great reminder and push to help others.

For Troy School District’s service project in honor of MLK Day this year, 446 volunteers like Potts made 200 tie blankets and packed activity bags for patients at Troy Children’s Hospital and their caretakers. Volunteers also made bracelet kits and hygiene kits to donate to Grace Centers for Hope. Potts says these projects can help young hospital patients feel seen.

“Children in the hospital are hoping people haven't forgotten them. These service projects remind them that we are thinking of them and are better for always looking for opportunities to reach beyond our city limits to help others," said Potts, a Troy School District board member. "This day of service honoring Dr. King has always been a reminder that we should never be self-serving and always look for opportunities to help others.”

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, the Michigan Community Service Commission is excited to announce that 19 volunteer projects occurred this month to address food insecurity, homelessness, environmental stewardship, and other community needs throughout the state. These projects engaged more than 5,000 volunteers in nearly 13,000 service hours. To support these efforts, the Michigan Community Service Commission awarded over $12,000 in grants ranging from $100 to $1,000.

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s outlook and perspective is something we can all continue to learn from and take after today,” said Ginna Holmes, the Michigan Community Service Commission executive director. “We are proud to continue supporting organizations across the state to engage volunteers in helping their communities.”

This year, volunteers and organizations kept MLK’s famous quote, "Life's persistent and most urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?'" in mind through their projects.

Troy School District Superintendent Dr. Rich Machesky’s outlook resembles Potts’.

“This event provides a powerful opportunity for our students and community to unite, build connections, and experience the profound joy of giving back. It’s a day that exemplifies Dr. King’s vision of service and unity, inspiring us all to strengthen our community and make a positive impact," said Machesky. “We are so grateful to the Michigan Community Service Commission for their support in making this day possible!" said Alison Hendry, communications specialist at Troy School District.

On a day that typically signifies time off for reflection, local organizations are grateful that many community members instead took time to organize and serve together.

"At Central Michigan University, we view MLK Day as a day on, not a day off,” said Symantha Dattilo, the assistant director of the Mary Ellen Brandell Volunteer Center at CMU. “In coming together to reflect on Dr. King's message and serve our community alongside one another, we are reminded of the power and importance of collective impact."

The service projects at CMU included making fleece blankets for children in foster care, decorating lunch bags for children with food insecurity, and writing thank you letters for nurses and veterans. Brady, a volunteer at CMU, said, "Volunteering takes us out of the mindset of only thinking of ourselves. It asks us to think about how we can all be better.”

TEK Ready Computer Learning Academy’s MLK Day project focused on enhancing access and education to technology.

"Technology is ever-advancing and is always evolving. In order to be productive, everyone deserves access,” said Robert V. Sewell Jr. AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program (AMUS) hosted many service projects in honor of MLK Day. Together with Forgotten Harvest and Gleaners, they provided 13,425 pounds of food, ensuring residents in the community had access to essential resources.

The Wayne Mobile Health Unit served 11 residents, and the Michigan Humane Society provided 70 giveaways for pets. AMUS also distributed hats and gloves to 80 residents and gave 50 residents trees with planting instructions. Plus, 62 households received home safety assessment kits. These are just a few projects the organization did in honor of MLK Day.

“Together, we answered Dr. King’s call to serve, helping create a stronger, more connected community,” said Danyelle Easley of AMUS. Diane Woodruff, the volunteer coordinator for United Way of Genesee County, says another quote by Dr. King, “Everyone can be great because anybody can serve,” also shows the ability to make an impact in one's community. United Way of Genesee County’s project provided 200,000 meals for the community, where 1 in 5 residents struggle with food insecurity. “We not only focused on providing meals, but on providing community members with a way to connect with each other. We strive to have families and groups volunteer on MLK Day to show how communities are strongest when we work together,” said Woodruff.

Other impacts include:

Fair Housing Center of West Michigan hosted a service event where volunteers assembled Fair Housing Five book kits to provide for the community. This project directly impacted 400 community members and helped to inform community members about the Fair Housing Center.
Macomb Foster Closet held a baby care drive to provide hygiene and lotion care kits to babies entering foster care through the child welfare system. Community members also donated items like changing tables and cribs. Nearly 200 volunteers served for 700 hours to bring these care kits to at least 250 babies and their foster families while promoting education on the foster system.
Allen Neighborhood Center hosted its Lansing Eastside Community Engagement service event that directly impacted 5,000 community members. Included in its project was the delivery of a community newsletter, the support of the Breadbasket Food Pantry, which provided 2,000 pounds of food to 120 families, seed identification and sorting for local gardens, and more.
Bridging Communities, Inc. organized its MLK Day Fellowship Luncheon, providing 142 hot meals for families and seniors in need.
The Children’s Center of Wayne County created hygiene care kits for youth with the help of volunteers. They extended their service project to February 11 and hope to create enough kits for 1,500 children and their families.
Vision Fair Foundation distributed hats and gloves to 87 students in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Volunteers also facilitated arts and crafts and storytelling in honor of Dr. King.
The Zeta Beta Zeta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta sorority partnered with a food bank to distribute food to 200 people in the Flint area. Their service event also consisted of workshops on meal planning and healthy eating.
Boys and Girls Club of Alpena created appreciation baskets for 200 people.

Projects Related to Environmental Stewardship and Food Insecurity

Location	Organization	Project	Participation
Ingham County Jan. 20, from 12 – 3 p.m.	Allen Neighborhood Center	Lansing Eastside Community Engagement. This project includes several activities from distributing the center’s newsletter, participating in a neighborhood cleanup, sorting seeds and starting seedlings for the greenhouse.	Contact: Ethan Schmitt To sign up, please email: ethans@allenneighborhoodcenter.org
Genesee County Jan. 24, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.	Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. Zeta Beta Zeta Chapter	Zeta Beta Zeta's Food Insecurity Project. The volunteers will participate in a food distribution event and provide nutrition and health information to residents.	Contact: Karen Utsey To sign up, please email: karenutseyzeta@yahoo.com
Genesee County, Jan. 20, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.	United Way of Genesee County	Volunteers will be packing Spanish rice meal kits that feed a family of six. They will assist with measuring, and boxing 200,000 meals in total.	Contact Diane at dwoodruff@unitedwaygenesee.org
Kent County Jan. 21-24, from 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.	Kids Food Basket	Nourishing kids to reach their potential project will host a food packing event.	Contact: Liz at lizw@kidsfoodbasket.org
Wayne County, Jan. 20, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.	AmeriCorps Urban Safety Program	Volunteers will clean up and board up several properties. In addition, volunteers will host a health and wellness resource fair for the residents of Detroit. Residents will receive safety items, food, and winter supplies along with information to help them stay safe and healthy in their community. In addition there will be fitness classes and youth activities to engage the community.	Contact: Danyelle at danyelle.amus@gmail.com
Wayne County, Jan.11,18, and 25, 1 – 2:30 p.m.	Detroit Bee Hive	The Brightmoor Botanical Garden Project will serve as a four-seasons perennial oasis. Volunteers will plant well over 2,000 seasonal perennials. Activities includes ridding site from trash and debris and working directly with our lead contractor to help lay down weed barrier fabric for our pre-planting phase.	Contact: Timothy at info@detroithives.org
Wayne County, January	Clark Park Coalition	Volunteers will prepare gardens for winter weather. In addition volunteers will do maintenance on green house tools and prepare and clean area for winter carnival event.	Contact: Anthony at benavidesacpc@gmail.com
Wayne County, Jan. 20, 9 – 3 p.m.	Bridging Communities	Volunteers will help feed those at risk for hunger.	Contact: Ka Trice at kperry631@gmail.com

Projects related to Economic Prosperity

Location	Organization	Project	Participation
Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, January multiple sites/days	TEK Ready Computer Learning Academy	Volunteers will be assisting participants with logistics, demonstrating various IT and Tech related skills and tasks to expand computer access and capabilities at several organizations.	Contact Robert at: rsewell@tekready.org

Project Related to Supporting Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Bay County, Jan. 6-24

United Way of Bay County

Students from several of the Bay County high schools will collect items for basic necessities kits for homeless families. These kits will be assembled at our offices and distributed in collaboration with the Bay Area ISD McKinney-Vento program to motels and shelters where homeless families are located.

Contact: Marybeth Rodriguez

To sign up, please email: maryb@unitedwaybaycounty.org

Projects Related to Arts

Location	Organization	Project	Participation
Newaygo County Jan. 6 Launch	TrueNorth Community Services	Youth Volunteers will participate in an MLK Art Contest.	Contact: Gabrielle Schmidt To sign up, please email: gschmidt@truenorthservices.org
Oakland County, Jan. 11 at 9 a.m.	Spirit of the Child Alliance	Youth and Adults will create a mural of MLK in the school.	Contact: To sign up, please email magdalena.ponurska@themsr.net

Project Related to Seniors and Youth

Location	Organization	Project	Participation
Wayne County	The Children’s Center	The Children's Center will engage 200 volunteers to prepare 2000 hygiene kits for children and families in the Detroit and Macomb County communities where we provide services.	Contact: Angela at apolk@thechildrenscenter.com
Isabella County, Jan. 20.	Central Michigan University	Volunteer projects include creating valentines for Michigan veterans, making fleece blankets for Foster Closet of Isabella County, and decorating snack bags for Kids Food Basket of Grand Rapids.	Contact: Symantha at misal1sf@cmich.edu
Wayne County, Jan. 20, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.	Vision Fair	Volunteers will pack and distribute hats, mittens and scarves to youth and family members.	Contact Clarissa at president@visionfairfoundation.org
Oakland County, Jan. 20, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.	Troy School District	Youth and adults will create care packages for youth in the hospital and caretaker packages for those who support patients.	Contact: Kendra kmontante@troy.k12.mi.us
Washtenaw County, Multiple dates	Peerbagh	Volunteer and student-reporter led program on belonging that is launched on MLK day. This program would be recorded and produced for 16,000 global audience members online, but also be a part of a story in our children's print magazine that goes to 100+ members in 45 cities (Bento) on April 14th.	Contact: namaste@peerbagh.com
Alpena, County Dates: Jan. 13-17.	Boys and Girls Club of Alpena	Youth volunteers will create appreciation baskets for workers that are involved with child wellness. Additionally, they will create necessity baskets for the workers to provide additional resources to the youth that they serve.	Contact: Catherine Knoch To sign up, please email: bgcalpena@gmail.com
Macomb County Date: Jan. 20 at 3 p.m.	Macomb Foster Closet	Volunteers will create a baby closet with supplies to ensure those taking care of infants have appropriate supplies such as cribs, mattresses, high chairs, etc.	Contact: Kevin McAlpine To sign up, please email: macombfostercloset@gmail.com

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