How to Volunteer on Martin Luther King Day

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), in keeping with the King Holiday and Service Act, helps to coordinate volunteer service efforts throughout the United States. This effort and the Act reflect the growing commitment of Dr. King's followers to making the holiday a day of action and service for social justice in communities all over the world, which is reflected in the slogan "A day ON, not a day OFF."

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Volunteer On Martin Luther King Day

1. Gather a group of friends or co-workers, or mobilize your organization or church or temple group, to volunteer together as part of the next Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. You can brainstorm about projects with which you would like to work and activities on which you could volunteer.
2. Call your United Way, NAACP or city government to ask if there is a clearinghouse for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service volunteer projects in the community where you wish to volunteer. You can decide whether to volunteer with an organized service project or to act as an individual volunteer working in a school or homeless shelter, tutoring a child or assisting a disabled neighbor or senior citizen.
3. Organize your volunteer day well and make it a positive experience for all concerned by planning well, building partnerships with other volunteer groups, maximizing participation and providing something--a souvenir t-shirt or sun visor, for instance--as a small recognition of your volunteers' commitment.
4. Contact your local news media to let them know about your project and give them a suggestion of good pictures or video footage that they may be able to use to help tell the story. Positive media coverage will help reward your volunteers with recognition while it also inspires other groups to volunteer and gets the word out about the need to address the problem or project on which your volunteer efforts are focused.
5. Check the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service website for tips, ideas, souvenirs and materials and coordination with other projects (see Resources below).
6. Raise funds from companies and individuals in your area to help defray the costs of souvenirs for your volunteers, transportation, materials and other expenses.

Tips & Warnings

• One serious obstacle to the efforts to create a national movement of volunteer activity for social justice on Dr. King's birth date holiday is the fact that only about one-third of U.S. companies give employees a day off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Ask your employer to help out by encouraging employees to participate and giving them the day to do so.