LUGTOES: Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. Through Service (NAPSA)—For hundreds of thousands of Americans, this Martin Luther King Daywill be “a day on,” not “a day off.” That’s because this year, people across the country will honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s life and legacy through community service. Working alongside neighbors, families and co-workers, citizens in every state will join together on Monday, January 17 to tutor children, build homes, clean parks, paint classrooms, deliver meals and perform countless other acts of service. This is the 11th year in which the country hasofficially marked the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday by encouraging Americans to volunteer and serve their communities. In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act to encourage Americans to cele- brate the King holiday as a day of service. At the time of its passage, Coretta Scott King said, “The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if all people of all racial and ethnic backgroundscelebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others.” During his lifetime, Dr. King sought to forge common ground on which people from all walks oflife could join together as equals to address important community issues. Service, he realized, was the great equalizer. “Dr. King once said, ‘Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve,” said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for www.mlkday.org For many Americans, Martin Luther King Day will be a day to give back to the community. National and Community Service, which hasled the effort to transform the holiday into a day of service. “On the King holiday and every day, we hope citizens of every age, race and faith honor the legacy of this great American by following his example to serve together to make a better nation.” The King Day of Service is a special initiative sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that administers the Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Inc., Best Buy and other partners are working to transform the King holiday into a day of volunteering andservice to others. To learn more about the King Day of Service and how you can become involved with projects in our area, visit www.mlkday.org.
