Volunteers Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr With Projects

From Volunteer New York!

More than 20 service projects kicked off in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam the weekend before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and holiday. “The time is always right to do what is right,” said Dr. King and local volunteer connector agency, Volunteer New York! has taken that message to heart, spending the last few weeks encouraging community members to do what is right and join in for a community-wide day of service to address local needs and support local nonprofits.

As part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. national day of service, for the 7th straight year, hundreds of local volunteers have come out in the January cold to remember the legacy of Dr. King and celebrate his birthday with Volunteer New York!.

“MLK Day is a day we can choose to come together, inspired by a message of hope and equality, and enact positive change by addressing local needs. Thank you to all our nonprofit partners and volunteers who make this dream possible – and inspire so many others in the process,” said Volunteer New York! Executive Director, Alisa H. Kesten.

As of Saturday, January 13th MLK Day volunteers have spent hundreds of hours supporting youth literacy, making blankets for sick youth, cleaning up community centers, and worked to help save animals at shelters, helped veterans learn computer skills, made sandwiches for the needy, created birthday boxes for disadvantaged youth, collected food, organized food pantries, learned hands-only CPR to be better prepared to help others, painted dorm rooms for at-risk youth, shared their stories about what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. means to them, and more.

Introducing Sunday Supper

This year as part of MLK Day on Sunday, January 14th at 5pm at the Wayside Cottage in Scarsdale community members were invited from all walks of life for a family-style meal and discussion in the tradition of Dr. King's Sunday Suppers. Guests discussed relevant topics in a safe space while hearing one another's thoughts, led by a table moderator. The goal of having this dialogue was to allow all of us to learn more about one another, the issues effecting us and those around us, and maybe even learn more about themselves.