Stockton University To Participate In 13th Annual MLK Day Of Service

Galloway, NJ -- Stockton University’s 13th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is set for Monday, Jan. 16, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

Stockton will provide volunteers with breakfast and lunch. The day will start with registration, breakfast and a short program. Groups will disperse to their project stations and will regroup for lunch and reflection.

In Galloway, registration and breakfast will be at the Campus Center. The choice of projects includes:

• Learning about sustainable gardening and skills, then participating in a planting project;
• Joining members of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity to paint positive messages on rocks to be placed around Stockton, aimed at starting discussions on the importance of mental health;
• Working with students and faculty and staff from Books Without Borders to assist in transporting boxes from campus storage to shipping containers. The books will be going to schools in Zimbabwe in the spring. Note: Lifting items up to 40 pounds may be required;
• Making toys, arts and crafts and hand-written personal messages for Syrian children living under siege or in refugee camps, in cooperation with the Narenj Tree Foundation;
• Making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, children’s dolls, door hangers and greeting cards for a variety of agencies, working with the Circle K Club, a student group affiliated with Kiwanis;
• Joining a discussion on feminism and the Women’s March on Washington with the Coalition of Women’s Rights and Civic Rights;
• A workshop on addiction as a disease, followed by outreach program in Galloway to distribute bags that dissolve prescription drugs for proper disposal. Note: Content may not be appropriate for young children;
• Writing letters of support on behalf of victims of illegal detention, torture and other human rights abuses, part of Amnesty International’s annual “Write for Rights” campaign;
• Training for hands-only CPR;
• Learning how to prepare federal and state income taxes, with the opportunity of being part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program in 2017;
• Visiting a traveling exhibit of the African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey in the Campus Center.

The university’s instructional site in Hammonton, Kramer Hall, will host four projects, two stationed at the Hammonton facility located on 30 Front Street.

The first project has become a tradition at Kramer Hall for the past several MLK Days of Service. Volunteers will be making Valentine cards for the residents of the local Greenbriar Nursing Center. Over 100 cards are then packed and delivered to the nursing home in February for the residents to enjoy.

The second project will be facilitated by professionals from the Noyes Museum of Art of Stockton University, who together with volunteers will assist with the organization of museum archives. This project will take place on the third floor of Hammonton Town Hall l, 100 East Central Avenue in Hammonton.

The third project will be clerical assistance for Allies In Caring, at 425 N. Third Street in Hammonton. The project will consist of helping to input information from paper documents into their database related to clients. Allies In Caring advocates for culturally responsive mental health services for diverse populations.

The final project, provided by the Galloway Township Ambulance at the instructional site, will allow volunteers to receive CPR, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, training and certification.

In Manahawkin, all projects will take place at 712 East Bay Avenue. They include:

• Collecting “necessity items” such as socks, wipes and toothbrushes to create bags for community members or students;
• Assembling nutritional one-bag meals that include a recipe;
• Making covers to protect turtle nests and by-catch reduction devices, with Project Terrapin/the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES.)

In Woodbine, registration and breakfast will begin at Stockton’s Sam Azeez Museum of Woodbine Heritage, 610 Washington Avenue. The project will be announced in the new year.

Participants are encouraged to use the hashtag #StocktonMLK when posting about the experience on Twitter and Facebook.

The MLK Day of Service activities are also being held at the main campus in Galloway, and at the university’s instructional sites in Manahawkin and Woodbine, with some activities then moving to other sites.

Nearly 1,000 volunteers turned out for the 2016 event, and organizers want to break that record with a call to “Take a Day ON!” Volunteers may choose which activity and location are most convenient for them after checking in at the corresponding Stockton location. They will need to provide their own transportation to sites.

Volunteers can register that day, but pre-registration is preferred. For more information and to pre-register, visit stockton.edu/mlkday.