FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, January 16, 2004
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Corporation for National and Community Service
CONTACT: Sandy Scott
202-606-5000 x255
sscott@cns.gov |
Americans Celebrate King Holiday By Serving Others |
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Hundreds of Thousands Honor Dr. King
By Making Holiday a Day On, Not a Day Off
Washington D.C. — For hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country,
January 19 will be a day "on" for service — not just a day off from work — as
they honor Martin Luther King Jr. by engaging in service activities for their
communities and neighbors. Citizens in every state will join together to tutor
children, build homes, clean parks, paint classrooms, deliver meals and perform
countless other acts of service.
Participation in the day of service has grown steadily since 1994 when
Congress passed legislation encouraging Americans to celebrate the King Holiday
as a day of service reflecting Dr. King's life and teachings.
"We encourage all Americans to make the King Holiday a day on, not a day
off," said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community
Service, which, along with the King Center for Non-Violent Social Change, has
led the effort to transform the holiday into a day of service. "Dr. King once
said, 'Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.' The King Holiday
affords the ideal opportunity to remember the legacy of a great American by
being one yourself."
Eisner, who will be building Habitat for Humanity homes along with
AmeriCorps*NCCC members in Charleston, S.C., that day, added, "Volunteering on
King Day also is an excellent way for Americans to continue to answer President
Bush's call to serve their nation by devoting at least 4,000 hours over the
course of a lifetime to serving others."
Last November, the Corporation awarded $500,000 in grants to support nearly
100 King Day service projects across the country. A full list of these projects
can be found at
www.mlkday.org. The Corporation has also encouraged all of its
Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs to undertake
service projects in their local area.
Among the hundreds of King Day service projects scheduled over the holiday
weekend:
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The Greater
Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service will engage more
than 40,000 volunteers in community service activities at more than 600
service sites, including schools and community and faith-based organizations.
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In Washington D.C., retired Washington Redskin Darrell Green and Chair of the
President's Council on Service and Civic Participation will join Senior Corps
Director Tess Scannell and volunteers in a Service for Peace project to
provide disaster preparedness kits for residents of the Brookland Manor
housing complex. Also, Corporation Chief Operating Officer James Manning will
join AmeriCorps members, local congregations, and residents in a clean-up and
mural painting project at Benning Terrace.
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In New York, television personality Al Roker will broadcast from a Habitat for
Humanity site where hundreds of AmeriCorps members, volunteers and homeowners
will rehabilitate 10 apartments in central Harlem. Corporation Chief Financial
Officer Michelle Guillermin and Public Affairs Director Barbara Taylor will
join in this
"Building on the
Dream" project to honor Dr. King.
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Californians will participate in
dozens of projects across the state. AmeriCorps Director Rosie
Mauk will join the Los Angeles Conservation Corps and 200 volunteers to
renovate the homes of 30 elderly low-income residents.
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In Helena, Mont., Governor Judy Martz will join middle school students in a
diversity fair to learn about Dr. King's life and teachings.
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In Texarkana, Ark., RSVP volunteers are building a playground at a school in a
low-income community to provide a safe place for children to play after
school.
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In Storm Lake, Iowa, 50 college students from Buena Vista University are
engaged in a service learning project to teach at-risk middle school students
lessons on the life and teachings of Dr. King.
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In Bradenton, Fla., hundreds of members of ManaTEENs, the nation's largest
locally based teen volunteer initiative, will paint 15 homes in Manatee County
for low-income families and senior citizens.
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In Boston, Learn and Serve America Director Amy Cohen will join City Year
AmeriCorps members and 100 middle school students in the Young Heroes program
to paint murals and beautify classrooms.
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In Fairfield, Conn., the American Red Cross will offer adult, child, and
infant CPR training to 100 teens at the University of Bridgeport and Fairfield
University.
In a
presidential proclamation issued yesterday, President Bush said,
"America has come far in realizing Dr. King's dream, but there is still work to
be done. In remembering Dr. King's vision and life of service, we renew our
commitment to guaranteeing the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness for all Americans."
On January 15, on what would have been Dr. King's 75th birthday, the
President discussed Dr. King and the contributions made by faith-based
organizations at church in New Orleans. A day later, Corporation CEO David
Eisner was in Jackson, Miss., to announce a
new
initiative with the National Conference of Black Mayors to place
AmeriCorps*VISTA members in 35 cities across the south to recruit
volunteer mentors for children of prisoners.
The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for
Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country
through three main programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve
America. Working with national and community nonprofit organizations,
faith-based groups, schools, and local agencies, the Corporation engages
Americans in service to meet critical needs in education, the environment,
public safety, homeland security, and other areas. The Corporation and its
programs are part of USA Freedom Corps, a White House initiative to foster a
culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility, and to help all Americans
answer the President's Call to Service. For more information, visit
www.nationalservice.org.
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