Baker College’s Flint campus seeks 100+ volunteers for MLK Jr. Day of Service Jan. 16

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 16, at Baker College’s Flint campus is fast approaching, and planners want to spread the word: Volunteers are needed!

Maureen Miller, coordinator of student life and organizer of the Baker College Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, hopes to have at least 100 volunteers signed up to tackle several community service projects and assist with an American Red Cross blood drive on Monday, Jan. 16.

“We want this day of service to be fun and fulfilling for our volunteers,” Miller said. “Our focus will be on giving and community action.”

Volunteers should sign up by Saturday, Jan. 14, at www.geneseeserves.org or www.nationalservice.gov/mlkday, or contact Miller at maureen.miller@baker.edu or 810.766.8752. Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

This year’s service projects include making laundry soap, assembling literacy bags, writing valentines for veterans and crocheting sleeping mats for area charities and the Flint Community Schools. Here are the details:

1. Making laundry soap for the Community Closet of Flint.

Volunteers will grate bar soap, mix ingredients and help organize 40 one-gallon bags of laundry soap for donation to the local Community Closet, which provides basic needs for low income and homeless people in Flint and is organized by the Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties. The public is welcome to bring any personal needs items they would like to donate (such as soap, laundry soap, toilet paper and paper towels).

2. Assembling literacy bags for Flint Community Schools.

Volunteers will assemble bags of worksheets, tutoring materials and writing supplies, and will organize the finished bags for distribution to students in the Flint Community School district.

3. Writing valentines for veterans.

Volunteers are needed to write, organize and proofread valentines to be delivered to veterans who are residing in two local Veteran’s Affairs facilities. The valentines will be delivered by members of the Baker College of Flint chapter of Student Veterans of America.

4. Crocheting sleeping mats from plastic bags for the homeless.

Volunteers will be cutting plastic shopping bags into strips, connecting the strips to make plastic yarn, and crocheting the yarn into mats. Completed sleeping mats will be donated to the Catholic Charities of Shiawassee and Genesee Counties.

The American Red Cross blood drive will be in the gym, noon to 5:45 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome or appointments can be made online at www.redcrossblood.org – use sponsor code: FLINTBAKER. Blood donors on Jan. 16 will receive a free Red Cross t-shirt while supplies last.

By the end of the day, Miller hopes a coordinated effort will yield donations of 40 one-gallon bags of laundry soap, 350 literacy bags, 550 veterans’ valentines, three new sleeping mats and 45 pints of blood.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at Baker College’s Flint campus is funded by a $500 grant from the Michigan Community Service Commission and in-kind donations from Barnes & Noble Inc. and Baker College.

Since passage of federal legislation in 1994 that designated a national Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, the holiday has been transformed into a day of citizen action volunteer service in honor of Dr. King.

The largest private college in Michigan, Baker College is a not-for-profit higher education institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Founded in 1911, Baker College grants doctoral, master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees, as well as certificates in diverse academic fields including business, health science, engineering, information technology, education and human service. Baker College has on-ground campuses throughout Michigan and offers online programs that can be completed 100 percent online without ever visiting a campus. In 2016, the Online Learning Consortium recognized Baker College Online with the OLC Quality Scorecard Exemplary Endorsement, the highest ranking for online higher education programs. For information, visit www.baker.edu or follow Baker College on Twitter, @bakercollege, or on Facebook, www.facebook.com/bakercollege.

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