Nearly 500 volunteers from UM-Dearborn and Henry Ford College participated in the 24th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service today. The event is a partnership that brings students, faculty, staff and alumni from both schools together for a morning of service throughout southeast Michigan.
“This year marks the 23rd anniversary of the National Day of Service. But UM-Dearborn and Henry Ford College are celebrating 24 years of service,” said event organizer Jonathan Larson. “It’s a really neat thing for the history of campus and the partnership with Henry Ford—that we were working together before the Day of Service became a national movement.”
Volunteers gathered on campus early this morning before heading out to 22 sites in six communities. UM-Dearborn Chancellor Daniel Little welcomed participants to campus as he reflected on King’s legacy.
“The ideals of social justice, of racial equality, of tolerance for all of us—this is the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” he said. “It’s something that—more than ever—we have to think about, reflect upon and work very hard to make a reality for our country.”
Volunteer activities included sorting food items at Gleaners Community Food Bank and Fish and Loaves Pantry, preparing books to be donated to Detroit’s Bennett Elementary School, and assisting with beautification efforts with Urban Neighborhood Initiatives.
The Day of Service marked the first in a series of events UM-Dearborn will hold throughout the week to commemorate King’s legacy:
Tuesday, January 17
- OSE Speaks: Michelle Guobadia
- 4 p.m., Kochoff Hall, University Center
- Sponsored by the Office for Student Engagement and the Women’s Resource Center
Wednesday, January 18
- MLK Week Breakfast and Keynote Speaker Khalid Hussein El-Hakim (registration required)
- 9 a.m., Kochoff Hall C, University Center
- Sponsored by the Office for Student Engagement, Black Student Union and Du Bois Club
- Black History Mobile Museum
- 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Kochoff Carpeted Area, University Center
- Sponsored by the Office for Student Engagement
- Eugene Roberts on 7 Last Words of the Unarmed
- 6-7 p.m., Dining Room D, Fairlane Center South
- Sponsored by the Office for Student Engagement, Office of Metropolitan Impact, and College of Education, Health, and Human Services
Thursday, January 19
- Tri-Campus Community Engagement Summit
- 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Kochoff Hall, University Center
- Sponsored by the Office of Metropolitan Impact
- Third Annual Engagement Day
- 12:30-4 p.m., Kochoff Hall, University Center
- Sponsored by the Office of Metropolitan Impact
- Movie Screening: Selma
- 12-2 p.m., The Include (room 2122), University Center
- 5-7 p.m., Room 1227, University Center
