MLK Day Service Projects: How To Help In Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA — Martin Luther King Jr. Day has been designated by groups and organizations nationwide as “a day on” since the third Monday of January was designated a national holiday in memory of the late civil rights icon. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, there are ways to make a positive difference in Arlington on the Jan. 18 holiday this year.

Organized service projects have taken the place of the traditional work or school holiday in recent years. But in 2021, restrictions in place to slow the further spread of the coronavirus are impacting the ability to perform some good deeds.

Arlington's annual MLK Day of Service program will be conducted digitally this year. Online volunteer opportunities on Monday, Jan. 19. from 9:30 a.m.-12 noon, include service projects, advocacy panels, and volunteer trainings. For more information or to register, visit volunteer.leadercenter.org/mlk-day-service.

The Arlington Latino Caucus and Blue Community Corps is helping Kenmore Moms Food/Support Drive. Volunteers can help virtually by donating $30 for a month of groceries to the Kenmore PTA PayPal or purchasing the following food staples and dropping a bat off at McSweeney/Rafky house (415 N Fillmore St., Arlington 22201) before Jan. 18:

• 10-pound bag of Rice (jasmine or medium to long grain rice)
• 32-64 ounces. of black or small red beans (dried beans)
• 48 ounces of canola oil
• 4-pound bag of sugar
• 5-pound bag of Maseca (corn flour)
• Any additional spices you want to throw in (cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, sofrito, garlic, onions)

From Jan. 16-18, the public can also donate food to benefit the clients of the Arlington Food Assistance Center at the following centers:

• Arlington Mill
• Aurora Hills
• Barcroft Sports & Fitness Center
• Carver
• Fairlington
• Gunston
• Langston-Brown
• Lubber Run
• Madison
• Thomas Jefferson
• Walter Reed

Arlington Rotary Club will guild volunteers via a Zoom call on Monday, Jan. 18, from 10 a.m.-12 p.m., to help make fleece blankets to support students in AHC Inc.'s aftershock program for children in affordable housing. The Rotary Club will provide blanks kits unless participants would like to use their own. Rotary Club members will provide materials through contactless pickup the day of the event at AHC's Woodbury Park Apartments (2306 11th St. N, Arlington).

Before the coronavirus pandemic, communities across the country held large events in various locations promoting service on the holiday.

Those have included Highland Park, Illinois, where the local human relations advisory group usually draws about 1,200 people every year to a service program that has turned into one of the city’s signature yearly events.

This year, the city will hold a virtual program to “honor the legacy of Dr. King's fight against inequity and his work to secure a just future for all,” Amanda Civitello, communications manager for the city of Highland Park, said in a news release.

Even if there aren’t any organized service projects planned nearby, there are several other ways to help those in need in or near Arlington.

Donating to nonprofit organizations, volunteering with food banks and pantries, and delivering meals and groceries to seniors are a few suggestions outlined by the national volunteer program AmeriCorps.

A list of organizations supporting COVID-19 response efforts had been made available by the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.