“When presented with injustice and inequity, my mind scales so quickly to validating pain and hurt and also how to innovate and redesign. Service requires you to both be hopeful and critical in equal measure.” – College Possible Milwaukee AmeriCorps coach.
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on January 20, 2020, was the 25th anniversary of the day of service celebrating the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy. College Possible and many other organizations observe this third Monday in January as ‘a day on, not a day off,’ as MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service, encouraging everyone in America to volunteer and improve their communities.
College Possible staff and AmeriCorps members participated in service projects across Milwaukee to connect with the community and reflect on Dr. King’s values. The projects, which were located at the Milwaukee Public Library, Urban Ecology Center, Despensa de la Paz Food Pantry and Lancaster Public School, ranged from painting murals to cleaning up trash to volunteering with local organizations.
After volunteering, groups met to discuss and reflect on their morning experiences. Following the discussion, the groups read a collection of Dr. King’s quotes and chose one that resonated with their feelings and best summed up their volunteer experience. While many organizations take a day off on MLK Day, College Possible made it a “day on” by working to serve the community and learn more about city of Milwaukee.
“Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.” –Martin Luther King Jr.
