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Corporation for National and Community Service

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In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, designating the King Holiday as a national day of community service. Instead of a day off from work or school, Congress wanted Americans to honor Dr. King's memory by becoming involved in projects that bring people from different backgrounds together to serve their communities.

Participation in the King Day of Service has grown steadily over the past decade, with hundreds of thousands of Americans each year engaging in projects such as painting schools or senior centers, delivering meals, building homes, and reflecting on Dr. King’s life and teachings.

Although the scope of the event grows every year, many Federal employees still are not aware of the service component of the holiday. By encouraging the participation of as many Federal agencies as possible, especially in the Washington metropolitan region, we hope to make next year’s King Day of Service the biggest and best ever.

How Your Agency Can Help

There are several ways to help. For example, your agency can:

  • Sponsor a single service project
  • Sponsor a variety of service projects
  • Form teams of employees to volunteer
  • Encourage your employees in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and across the country to seek out service projects in their hometowns

By doing so, your agency will help strengthen local communities, bridge social and cultural differences, and demonstrate the compassion and commitment of your agency to make a difference and honor Dr. King’s memory.

Dr. King’s widow, the late Coretta Scott King, once said that “The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others.” Given the more than one million federal employees in the Washington metropolitan area, there is great potential for making the King Day of Service a powerful force for good and a meaningful tribute to the life and teaching of one of America’s heroes.

For More Information

If you would like more information on how your agency can help support the King Day of Service, please contact Rhonda Taylor at rtaylor@cns.gov.

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