Marin Luther King, Jr. who was born on January 15, 1929 would have celebrated his 90th birthday this year. As a civil rights leader he extolled the importance of service. "Everybody can be great ... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
His birthday is now a national holiday celebrated on the third Monday of January. To honor King’s memory, since 1994 this federal holiday has also been celebrated as a day of service. The website for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service encourages people to think of the holiday as “a day on, not a day off” by volunteering for local causes. Join with people around the country to make a difference especially this year with so many of our public servants working without pay. Visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service for ideas and opportunities to volunteer.
Activism and community building are buzzwords not just for this day but as a way of life. As the website A Mighty Girl explains, "In addition to contributing time to good causes, this day also provides an excellent opportunity to talk about service, charity, and generosity with children. By providing concrete examples of ways to help and showing them that their efforts do make a difference, parents and educators can encourage children and youth to be socially minded. Then they can turn their creative minds toward finding solutions to the problems they see around them!" Check out their list of books and resources for parents at A Might Girl. Kids who are used to having what they need may find it hard to believe that anyone lacks for the basics. These books will help parents and educators show kids that there are many people out there who need our help — and that small contributions can make a big difference, both locally and globally.
Activism and community building are buzzwords not just for this day but as a way of life. As the website A Mighty Girl explains, "In addition to contributing time to good causes, this day also provides an excellent opportunity to talk about service, charity, and generosity with children. By providing concrete examples of ways to help and showing them that their efforts do make a difference, parents and educators can encourage children and youth to be socially minded. Then they can turn their creative minds toward finding solutions to the problems they see around them!" Check out their list of books and resources for parents at A Might Girl. Kids who are used to having what they need may find it hard to believe that anyone lacks for the basics. These books will help parents and educators show kids that there are many people out there who need our help — and that small contributions can make a big difference, both locally and globally.
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