APPLETON, WIS. — Making it a “day on,” rather than a day off, more than 75 Lawrence University students are expected to follow the leads of President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden by participating in community projects Monday, Jan. 19 as part of 2009’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Coordinated by Lawrence’s Volunteer and Community Service Center, students will volunteer several hours of their time Monday with numerous programs and agencies in the Fox Cities, including helping cook and serve a meal at the Emergency Shelter of the Fox Valley, assembling cabinets for a home being constructed by the Appleton Housing Authority and playing bingo and making valentine decorations for residents at Pioneer Village.
One of the day’s biggest service projects will involve 30 students, who in teams of two will present a diversity activity designed by sophomore Megan Luedtke, coordinator of the LARY Buddy program, to every class at Appleton’s Edison Elementary School.
“The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is an opportunity for Lawrence students to better understand the needs of the Appleton community by providing service to area community agencies in need of assistance,” said Kristi Hill, the VCSC’s coordinator of internships and volunteer programs. “All of our students are encouraged to make it a day on, not a day off, to discover how a small donation of their time can make a big difference to a member of our community.”
In conjunction with the MLK Jr. Day of Service, a Volunteer Fair, featuring representatives from 16 area agencies and coordinated by the Volunteer Center of East Central Wisconsin, will be held Monday from 10 a.m. – 12 noon in Riverview Lounge of the Memorial Union.
The VCSC also will conduct a presentation on summer volunteer opportunity grants in the Barber Room from 12 noon – 1 p.m. Senior Harjinder Bedi, who worked on an organic farm in Ghana, senior Megan Bjella, who oversaw the Lawrence University Sustainable Garden last summer and senior Jamie Gajewski, who taught English and dance classes at a community center in Costa Rica, will discuss their experiences as previous volunteer opportunity grant recipients. Information on how to apply for 2009 summer grants will be provided.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service was founded in 1994 to transform the federal holiday honoring King into a national day of community service grounded in his teachings of nonviolence and social justice.
