2015 Athens MLK Day of Service

The 13th Annual Athens Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebrated “A Day On, Not A Day Off”

Athens, Ga. – Roughly 600 volunteers came together on Monday to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. For 13th year, the Athens Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service was held at various project sites around the city, drawing participants from Athens and surrounding areas.

Volunteers planted daffodils at the Chase Street ramps, cleared brush and fallen trees at Brooklyn and Gospel Pilgrim cemeteries, cleaned up Lay Park and East Athens Community Center, and cleared the trail at Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary School. Additional sites included West Broad Street Market, the Athens Council on Aging and Williams Farm.

The Athens-based event is part of a national initiative that originated in 1994 when the U.S. Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday as the only holiday observed as a national day of service.

“The MLK Day of Service is an opportunity for us to bring our community together in the sprit of celebrating one of our great American heroes, while at the same time working toward realizing his vision of a ‘beloved community,’” said steering committee co-chairwoman Stacee Farrell of Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful.

This year’s Day of Service started with a kickoff and food drive at Lay Park. The Northeast Georgia Food Bank received more than 500 pounds of donated food items.

Community Connection Executive Director Fenwick Broyard, who gave an impassioned speech to the crowd at the kickoff event said the event is a way to build a “culture of service in Athens. the keynote speaker at the kickoff.

times the relationship building potential of joining 30 individuals at one of 38 project sites; so, we’re grateful for having been forced to reimagine the event and for the impact this year’s Day of Service can have on our effort to support a ‘culture of service’ in Athens.”

“It is you who understand that we can make Dr. King’s dream a reality,” he said. “”That we can turn this smallish geographic county in Georgia into a piece of the America that that great man envisioned.”

This year’s event was made possible by The Mayor’s Fund, Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful, First Baptist Church, Community Connection, Jittery Joe’s, Athens Land Trust, Chick-fil-a, Athens-Clarke County Stormwater Management, RubySue Graphics and Goodie Two Shoes.