Honor legacy of MLK with day of service

Spend the day off helping others Jan. 20 during the MLK Day of Service, sponsored by Student Leadership Development and Volunteer Services.

This year, all of the service projects will take place near campus in the North Lawndale neighborhood. Projects include setting up an MLK exhibit and serving meals at Stone Temple Baptist Church, organizing sports equipment with Girls in the Game, and more. All volunteers will kick off the day at Stone Temple Baptist Church, where Dr. King spoke multiple times during the Civil Rights Movement. Registration is available online.

“No matter where our home base is, we all come to work or school at UIC every day, and because of that, it is important for us to do our part to make UIC as a whole a living, breathing part of the community,” said Kennedy Hayes, event organizer and Student Leadership Development and Volunteer Services graduate assistant. “This is especially important in the areas directly surrounding UIC like North Lawndale.”

During last year’s event, about 170 UIC volunteers spent more than 700 hours serving at nine sites across Chicago. Through projects such as organizing libraries, painting murals, serving meals, and more, the volunteers provided about $18,000 in economic impact.

“At the end of the day, we all want to leave the world a little better than we found it, and this day is a chance for students, staff, faculty, friends of the university, local nonprofits, and community members to come together in that goal,” Hayes said. “It’s also so important that this day is in honor of Dr. King. He changed this country forever and he did it on the premise that people can come together to make a difference. That is exactly what we hope to do in MLK Day of Service.”

For more information, email slce@uic.edu