Young People Nationwide Answer Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Call to Service with Projects Launching January 16, 2012

Supported by YSA, youth-led initiatives to address critical community needs

Washington, D.C. (January 11, 2012)—For many Americans, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day will be a federally-mandated day of rest, but for 50,000 children, teens and young adults, January 16 will be “a day on, not a day off.” These young people will be hard at work, kicking off a “Semester of Service” and launching projects that address their communities’ most pressing needs.

“With their natural creativity, curiosity and passion, young people are uniquely positioned to better their communities through service and service-learning projects,” said Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of YSA (Youth Service America), the global organization that improves communities by increasing the number and diversity of young people serving in substantive roles. “As thousands of kids across the nation begin service projects on MLK Day, Dr. King’s dream of a ‘beloved community’ lives on.”

With grants and resource support from YSA, many initiatives launching on MLK Day will culminate on Global Youth Service Day, April 20 to 22, the largest service event in the world. Projects address issues such as childhood health and welfare, environmental degradation and poverty. Examples include:

• “Superintendent’s Leadership Program,” Montgomery County, Md.—Throughout their Semester of Service, high school seniors from 17 Montgomery County schools are helping hungry children in their Washington, D.C. suburb. For MLK Day, students are partnering with A Wider Circle to stock a food pantry that serves more than 30 families each day and was stripped nearly bare over the holiday season. The students, who are members of the Superintendent’s Leadership Program, are recruiting their peers to join the MLK Day efforts, and beginning an awareness campaign to promote their Global Youth Service Day activities, which will include a walk-a-thon to raise money for hungry and homeless families.

• “Watershed Restoration,” Tacoma, Wash.—On MLK Day, students at First Creek Middle School will host a watershed restoration and clean-up event. Along with partners from the University of Washington, University of Puget Sound, and other members of the Green Tacoma Partnership, the students will mulch trees, create a protective barrier at the canyon rim above the creek, ‘grub’ (clear the roots of) blackberries bushes and collect trash.

• “Old Shoe Kick-Off,” Frankfort, Ky.—The Kentucky YMCA, along with Presentation Academy in Louisville, will “kick off” an old shoe drive. Through the multi-week shoe drive, young people hope to collect at least 5,000 pairs of old shoes from their peers and adults. They will donated the shoes to the NGO Edge Outreach, which sells the shoes to vendors in developing nations, and applies the proceeds to safe drinking water initiatives and microfinance loans. 

Extended service-learning experiences such as Semester of Service and other YSA-sponsored initiatives have been shown to increase academic engagement and student achievement, and have a greater impact on the community served.[1] Developed by YSA, Semester of Service is a school-based, service-learning framework through which young people apply what they are learning in the classroom to critical needs in their communities.