‘A DAY ON’
ECU honors Martin Luther King Jr. through service, speaker
The annual MLK Jr. Day of Service organized by ECU’s Volunteer and Service-Learning Center encourages students to join in service projects in the community as a way to honor Dr. King’s legacy. During the 2012 event, pictured above, ECU College of Business graduate assistants Heather Clayton and Devang Patel work together to paint a wall in the Salvation Army’s Family Store. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
East Carolina University students are encouraged to use their day off from class Monday, Jan. 21 to participate in a day of service honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
The day’s activities are organized by the ECU Volunteer and Service-Learning Center, which has scheduled four sites where students can volunteer: the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and Third Street Community Center in Greenville, Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park in Scotland Neck and A Time for Science in Grifton.
The day will begin at 8 a.m. at Hendrix Theatre at ECU, where volunteers will meet for a light breakfast, hear from the Rev. Will Harper of Third Street Community Center and participate in team building activities, according to Dennis McCunney, director of Volunteer and Service-Learning.
“The kickoff will get people in the spirit of the day,” he said.
The students will then travel to their assigned locations. McCunney said students will be doing everything from distributing food to outdoor trail maintenance, depending on the site they were assigned.
“The places we are sending students rely on big group projects like this,” said McCunney.
The day of service enables students to become productive citizens while honoring Martin Luther King Jr., he added.
“Our motto is to make it a day on and not a day off. It is also an amazing opportunity to meet other students and learn about the diversity in the community.”
Any student who wishes to join the day of service can register online through the Volunteer and Service-Learning website, http://www.ecu.edu/vslc. McCunney said at least 50 to 60 students are expected to participate.
‘Visualizing the Dream’
On Wednesday, Jan. 23, Marc H. Morial will speak to students on “Visualizing the Dream” of Martin Luther King Jr. at 6:30 p.m. in Hendrix Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.
The former mayor of New Orleans, Morial is the president of the National Urban League, a civil rights organization from New York City that advocates against racial discrimination in the United States.
The Office of Equity and Diversity, the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center, the Student Activities Board, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Collegiate 100 are sponsoring the event.
For more information or to RSVP, contact the Office of Equity and Diversity at 252-328-6804.
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