Jefferson City - - - They’re collecting coats for the needy, food for the hungry, recruiting volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and encouraging young people to share their knowledge with their peers. These service-related projects all are being supported by the Jefferson City MLK Regional Committee in celebration of Martin Luther King’s life and legacy.

“Dr. King believed that community service could strengthen communities and bridge barriers among people,” says Roxana Flores, president of the Jefferson City MLK Regional Committee Board of Directors. “By working together people can improve their communities, impact others and overcome differences. The committee’s philosophy is that service is the best way to celebrate the life of Dr. King.”

The coat drive is a partnership with the Community Service Commission within the Department of Economic Development and the Samaritan Center. Donation barrels are located on the first and fourth floors of the Harry S Truman State Office Building and in room 770. Coats will be collected through Jan. 18, 2010.

The work with Habitat for Humanity will take place on Jan. 9 and Jan. 16, with various community groups, including the Jefferson City NAACP. Young people and other members from Familia Cristiana Internacional, which is the Hispanic Baptist Mission at First Baptist Church and the members of the Missouri Baptist Convention will be working on Jan. 9, while member s of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the Missouri Baptist Convention will volunteer on Jan. 16.

Students from the community will be completing murals that celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King while encouraging service. Cathy Wyss, an art teacher at South Elementary, and Damian Trasada from the Department of Social Services, coordinated this project, with the assistance of Lucy Sjbloom, Norma Rose, Stacie Bosch, Dennis Holliday and Mike Balance.

These mobile murals will allow the participants to serve as peer educators and help spread the message to friends and classmates. The murals will be unveiled at the 2010 MLK Celebration on Jan. 15, 2010 in the ballroom of Scruggs University Center at Lincoln University and will be displayed in various locations around Jefferson City.

Finally, the committee once again sponsored a poster and essay contest for middle and high school students in the Jefferson City area. This contest required students to research Dr. King and then interpret his vision in writing or through art. The entries will be displayed during the program on Jan. 15 at Lincoln University when the winners will be announced. The program is open to the public.

For more information you can contact Flores at 573-291-1751. You also can get updates by following the committee at Twitter.com/JCMLK.

###