The New York State Commission on National and Community Service encourages all New
York national service programs to participate in Martin Luther King Service events
each year. In 2010, the State Commission was directly involved with New York’s MLK
Day Celebration at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, debuting the Commission’s new
Public Service Announcement to attendees and informing attendees about ways to volunteer
in their communities.
Congratulations to all New York State Citizens who answer our President and Governor’s
Call to Service each day of the year!
Many service events commemorating Dr. King occurred throughout the state and nation
in January 2010. While many events occurred throughout the state, below is a sampling
of New York’s MLK Day activities:
Click here to read the full story about a few of New York
State’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day events.
Student Conservation Association AmeriCorps
On Tuesday January 19th, 2010, service members with the SCA Hudson Valley AmeriCorps
program recognized Martin Luther King Jr. Day by serving at the Sadie Peterson Delaney
African Roots Library. The Library is a grassroots initiative located in the Family
Partnership Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, focusing on the African contribution
to history and culture. With an informative collection of books, videos, and programming
for all ages, the Library has built pride among African-American children. The African
Roots Library has a growing collection of materials authored by people of color,
and also serves the Poughkeepsie community by providing after-school activities
for local youth. The SCA Hudson Valley Corps assisted with shelving library materials,
computer maintenance, and general library clean-up. Corps members living in the
area also hope to become involved in future educational programs offered by the
Library. SCA members learned a great deal from volunteer library staff, while working
hard and having fun.
Community Counseling and Mediation
On Sunday, January 17, 2010, eighteen CCM AmeriCorps members gathered at P.S. 57
James Weldon Johnson School in East Harlem, NY to assist Children for Children’s
event set up for the MLK day event on the following day. The members were responsible
for carrying and setting up tables to be used for service projects on the following
day. The members worked with other volunteers in an effort to prepare for the next
day’s event. One of the biggest jobs of the day was the laying of a massive amount
of paper and tape on the schools’ entire gym floor. This particular job took almost
all of the members’ effort in order to complete. The other members assisted downstairs
with preparing the tables to be used for volunteer and participant sign-up. In addition,
other member tasks involved creating signs for the next day’s event. As a whole,
members worked very intensely and closely with the staff of Children for Children
in preparation for the following day in event which anticipated 2,000 youth would
participate.
Rochester AmeriCorps
On the day that celebrates the life and achievement of civil rights leader Martin
Luther King, Jr., 40 local AmeriCorps members, nine Rochester Youth Year VISTA members
and 13 members of the City of Rochester P.R.I.M.E. Program (a job readiness program)
worked together at two Volunteers of America locations.
The Rochester AmeriCorps MLK Day Project brought together the three programs to
assist Rochester’s Volunteers of America, an organization dedicated to enabling
people in our community break the cycle of poverty and reach their full potential.
At the Lake Avenue address, volunteers sorted, painted and beautified the facility.
A second group of volunteers cleaned, sorted, organized and disinfected at the Ward
St. shelter.
Red Hook Public Safety Corps
The Red Hook Public Safety Corps partnered with local schools in the area to spread
awareness about service and to unite the community. The day began with AmeriCorps
Members giving an overview of MLK Day and the meaning of volunteerism. Following
this members of the community were brought together to create a unity quilt which
will highlight the" meaning of community" . Members ended the day with a park cleanup
and creation of bird feeders with kids from the local schools.
Genesee County AmeriCorps
In the spirit of Martin Luther King Day, the Genesee County AmeriCorps program,
in partnership with RSVP of Genesee Co., hosted the first annual “Be a Star-GO Volunteer!”
Fair. The goal of this event was to connect potential volunteers with organizations
that rely on their service, and we did just that! 25 agencies attended, representing
a broad cross section of the community, and nearly 30 people from the general public
attended. In a matter of just 2 hours, RSVP signed up 2 new volunteers, the Salvation
Army got the contact information for 10 individuals, and the County Park spoke with
three interested people, two of which came to an event the very next day! These
successes, amongst others, were highlighted on the front page of our local newspaper.
One of the unanticipated benefits of bringing together so many service organizations
was the networking that resulted. A VISTA member representing the Red Cross felt
that he made, “many great connections,” and two agencies which happened to be sitting
at the same table realized that they should be referring clients to each others’
services. Even though the fair was small, this concept has great potential within
our county. We look forward to sustaining and expanding this project in the future.
**Click Here to Read all the Great Stories from MLK Day
2010**