Residents Mark 25th Anniversary of King Holiday By Serving Others

The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley will lead UNI Students in volunteer opportunities to honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy by working together to tackle area problems. The local students will join hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country in making the holiday a day on, not a day off by serving others.

“Martin Luther King devoted his life to advancing equality, social justice, and opportunity for all, and taught us that everyone has a role to play in making America what it ought to be,” said Lauren Finke, the Executive Director of the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley. “By serving on January 17 and throughout the year, we honor Dr. King and help realize his dream of equality and opportunity for all.”

UNI students share this commitment, and in doing so, have planned volunteer opportunities for this special day of service. Any student, student organization, resident hall, class, faculty or staff may participate on Monday, January 17. Check in begins at 9 am at Maucker Union with buses leaving the Union at 9:30 a.m. The event will last until approximately 1 p.m. Participants will receive a free t-shirt, transportation, and lunch. Keynote speaker, Dr. Dwight C. Watson, will open the program and a photo slide show of the day will occur during lunch. Several locations will be available. Students may select their top choices on the registration form. This event is sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley, the American Democracy Project at UNI and the UNI Student Leadership Center.

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal holiday, and organizers see the milestone as a perfect opportunity for Americans to remember Dr. King’s life and legacy and to honor him by taking action to solve problems in their communities.

Many organizations are using MLK Day as a springboard for service throughout the year. “Because of the economic downturn, needs in our community are particularly great right now. Addressing the challenge of mobilizing people and resources to solve community problems will take a sustained effort, and we hope many who are serving today will make an ongoing commitment to serve throughout the year, said Finke.

The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley works to promote and support effective volunteerism; to serve as the resource and coordination center for volunteers and a catalyst in building coalitions and community partnerships.

Please contact Lauren Finke at the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley to express interest in participating. To secure additional volunteer opportunities call the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley at 272-2087. The Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley offers over 170 local volunteer opportunities from 55 nonprofit agencies. Volunteer opportunities may also be accessed at http://www.vccv.org/ or 1-800-Volunteer.org.