Reflection on MLK Day Service

On Saturday, January 19^th, Nevada Outdoor School AmeriCorps members planned and implemented a 5K Run/Walk in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  In 1994, the Federal Government designated Martin Luther King Jr. day as a national day of service with a theme of “a day on, not a day off”.  In keeping with that theme, NOS AmeriCorps members coordinated with Winnemucca agencies, asking them to participate in a registration process during the morning before the scheduled noon 5K.  During the registration process, 5K participants were to choose a volunteer opportunity, committing to a minimum of 2 hours of service in lieu of a fee to run or walk.  With a high of about 18 degrees on that day, we were lucky to have 20 participants in the 5K and in addition we had about 7 more people who signed up to volunteer, but didn’t want to run or walk in such frigid and icy conditions.  AmeriCorps member Brenna Archibald reflects on MLK day below:
 

        In preparing for our Martin Luther King Jr. Day event I was often reminded of what service is, and all Dr. King stood for.  We were able to prepare posters with inspirational quotes by Dr. King as well as write press releases highlighting the importance of MLK Day.  Through our preparation we were provided multiple opportunities to work with local community members, business owners, and city officials.  It’s easy in planning or participating in an event like this, to get caught up in everything that needs to be done.  By striving to make sure of the event’s success, it was easy (at times) to lose sight of what we were really hoping to do for our community as the northern Nevada AmeriCorps team.  Acknowledging this idea personally reminded me of our objective for the event: to bring the community together and contribute to local agency’s abilities to recruit local volunteers.  

 

        The turnout for the event felt successful in meeting our ultimate goal and for me, it was incredible to touch base with community members who were excited about volunteering their time for a local agency.  Service is “the act of helping or doing work for someone”, and during our MLK Day event we had various local community members commit to doing a “service” and volunteering their time.  Their selflessness and support of the event in general, made the preparation and hard work well worth it.  These are the people in our community that best reminded me of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his ability to serve, inspire, positively impact, and lead.