On Monday, Jan. 18, Spring Arbor University will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by joining people across the United States in a day of service. Sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Relations, SAU will be serving at the Salvation Army in Jackson as well as the Jackson Interfaith Shelter.

The National Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service was instituted by Congress in 1994 in honor of Dr. King. The legislation challenges Americans to transform the holiday into a day of citizen action. Last year, over one million citizens across the U.S. participated in the event. SAU became involved through a grant from Michigan Campus Compact, a service-based organization. This will be SAU’s first year participating.

“I am delighted to see the University taking an active role in living out an important principle of Dr. King’s legacy,” says Michael Eatman, director of intercultural relations at SAU. “What gives me greater joy is to see that our students have taken the initiative to plan, develop and implement this community collaboration. It proves to me once again that while we are developing the life of the mind, service remains an important tenant of Spring Arbor life.”

The event will begin at 9 a.m. in Dunckel Gymnasium on SAU’s main campus with a kickoff celebration. Volunteers will leave campus by 10 a.m. and serve until 1 p.m. Areas of service include, but are not limited to: serving meals, playing with children, cleaning, shoveling snow and painting walls and murals.

Following the service events, a celebration titled “Quality of Character” will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the dining commons at the Kresge Student Center. The celebration will consist of a worship time, poetry readings and a reading of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. In addition, faculty and student speakers will discuss the importance and meaning of Dr. King’s life and legacy. See the full schedule below.

The event is open to students, faculty, staff and the community. If you are interested in making a commitment to serve, please e-mail your name, age, ethnicity, T-shirt size and areas of expertise to mlkday.oir@gmail.com (age and ethnicity are required for grant purposes). For more information on the event, contact the Office of Intercultural Relations at the aforementioned e-mail address or call 517.750.6891.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service events

Article provided by English major, senior Chuck Monahan from Hudson.