Nearly 500 volunteers braved the frigid temperatures this morning to participate in University of Michigan-Dearborn’s 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. The event, a partnership between UM-Dearborn and Henry Ford College, brought together students, staff, alumni and faculty of both schools for a morning of work throughout Metro Detroit.
Chancellor Daniel Little welcomed volunteers to campus before they embarked on their service activities.
“This is my 16th Martin Luther King Day of Service. And it fills my heart with pride every time I see young people… give a day of service to contribute to the betterment of our region, and to say with your time, with your effort, with your energy, ‘We care about the progress of our region,’” he said. “There is power in community, and that power is expressed today in the service you are rendering.”
Participants volunteered for more than 20 organizations, including ACCESS, Blight Busters, Forgotten Harvest, Franklin Wright Settlements, Gleaners Community Food Bank and Urban Neighborhood Initiatives.
UM-Dearborn will host events throughout the week to celebrate King’s legacy:
Tuesday, January 19
- What is Your Dream?
- All Day, Chalk Wall, McKinley Cafe
- Film Screening: Reflections Unheard: Black Women in Civil Rights
- Noon, Kochoff Hall A, University Center
- Conversation on Race with New Detroit: The Power and Influence of Millennials
- 3 p.m., Kochoff Hall, University Center
Wednesday, January 20
- Soup and Conversation: Has His Dream Been Achieved?
- Noon, Kochoff Hall C, University Center
Thursday, January 21
- Alumni Panel, Faculty and Staff Enrichment Program: UM-Dearborn’s Diverse Student Experiences and How Those Experiences Can Inform Our Work
- Noon, Room 1225, University Center
- Stage Play and Discussion: The Meeting
- 5 p.m., Kochoff Hall, University Center
Friday, January 22
- Second Annual Engagement Day
- 8:30 a.m., Kochoff Hall, University Center
- Stage Play and Discussion: The Meeting
- 7 p.m., Kochoff Hall, University Center
