MLK Day of Service Seeks Volunteers

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day, taking place this year on Saturday, January 13th, was created to honor the memory of the civil rights hero and encourage the public to carry on his legacy of volunteerism through community service projects. Locally, what began as a grassroots effort by State Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) to clean up East MLK Jr. Boulevard in 2000 has blossomed into the citywide MLK Day of Service.

The 2007 clean up, coordinated by United Way Capital Area/Hands on Central Texas, is currently looking for volunteers "from all walks of life" to help out. All are welcome.

“The MLK activities will help volunteers understand how they can use Dr. King’s blueprint for civic and social activism to affect social change in their communities, by addressing ‘legacy areas’ such as poverty, hunger and homelessness, the environment, community revitalization, and human justice and discrimination,” said Armando Rayo, director of Hands On Central Texas.

This year's areas selected for improvement include: J.J. Seabrook Park, Walnut Creek, SafePlace, Escuela Montessori, American YouthWorks, Hospice Austin’s Christopher House, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden, Zilker Park, Goodwill, and Matthews, Rodriguez and Wooten elementary schools. Additionally, Hands On Central Texas will host a one-day training course in “Volunteer Project Leader Certification." The class, limited to an inaugural group of 25 individuals from local companies, will teach participants how to lead volunteer efforts, and to organize and lead projects on their own.

“The purpose of the MLK Day of Service is to engage citizens in community service, to give them starting points for future engagement in their community and to give them the tools so they can change what they want to see in their world,” said Rayo, echoing the famous words of another celebrated civil rights leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who remarked, "Be the change you want to see in the world."

MLK Day of Service will kick off at 9am at J.J. Seabrook Park with a keynote address by Rep. Dukes, followed by a brief orientation "Teach-In." Assignments will then be handed out.

If you'd like to be one of the estimated 300 Austinites participating in this year's Clean-Up, give 'em a call at 512-225-0360 or visit the website below.

[Register to Volunteer for an MLK Project]
[Hands on Central Texas]

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
Saturday, January 13th
Various Locations Around Austin

Kickoff Meeting
Saturday, January 13th
J.J. Seabrook Park, 2000 Pershing Drive [map]
9am