MLK Day Service Projects: How To Help In Loudoun County

LEESBURG, 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 Loudoun County 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.

While the coronavirus pandemic has forced local officials to cancel the normal service opportunities that are available in Loudoun County, the 30th annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration will take place virtually.

The event will be held at noon on Monday and local residents may register for the virtual celebration here. This year commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Loudoun County Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March and celebration, which typically ends at Douglass High School in Leesburg. The school was the county’s last segregated high school until it was closed in 1968 due to desegregation.

Monday’s virtual celebration will include musical performances and brief video appearances by the Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring among others.

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 Leesburg and Ashburn.

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.