Honoring the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” ― Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
 
 

 
 

What better way to honor Dr. King’s legacy, than by volunteering to serve others right here in our community. We know Dr. King would have been proud to see more than 1,600 volunteers of all ages uniting through service across four locations in the Charlotte area on Saturday, January 13.

 
 
For 26 years, Hands On Charlotte, the volunteer arm of United Way of Central Carolinas, has hosted family-friendly volunteer events annually to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
 
“Every year, we bring together volunteers across the Charlotte region to honor Dr. King’s call to service,” said Bob Young, director of volunteer strategy and planning for Hands On Charlotte. “This year, with adding a fourth location, our community answered the call by doubling volunteer efforts and bringing out over 1,600 volunteers.”
 
 

Volunteers gathered at Blythe Elementary School, Piedmont IB Middle School, East Mecklenburg High School, and Renaissance West STEAM Academy, to participate in opportunities such as:
 

• Writing cards of encouragement for the Love in Action Project
• Creating no-sew baby blankets for Baby Bundles
• Making bookmarks, “bookworm buddies” and writing “bookworm letters” for Promising Pages
• Packing information kits for the American Red Cross
• Creating multiplication and vocabulary flash cards for local schools and afterschool programs.

 
 
This year marked the 50-year anniversary of Dr. King’s death. To honor this anniversary, students from all four schools gave a presentation to start the event with readings from “Drum Major Instinct,” the last sermon given by Dr. King.
 
 

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