Signed by Congress in 1994, the third Monday in January is considered a national holiday of Community Service in honor of the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This year on Jan. 16, community members and students all around the United States volunteered their time to give back. High Point University has participated in the Martin Luther King Day of Service for the last four consecutive years.
“The whole purpose of MLK day is to give back to the community surrounding us,” says Sami Paterno, HPU staff who helped organize the service events for students to participate in. “High Point students might forget that there are things going on outside our university. This day of service gives them the opportunity to give something back to the community because this community has already given so much to us.”
It is evident that the students that did volunteer their time were extremely proud of the progress that was made on this day off from classes. Student Victoria Evans spent her day volunteering at an animal shelter.
“I helped show people all the animals, I answered questions, and I was able to educate the public on how important it is to adopt shelter animals,” Evans said. “Though we had 79 adopted, we had 179 animal intakes last week alone. It is so important that we find all of these animals homes. I hope to help with this more in the future to raise awareness and try and help some of these awesome animals find their forever homes.”
Paterno also seems to think that volunteering on MLK Day does just as much for the students as the impact they are making on the community around them. “It gives them a sense of purpose, it shows them that they really can make a difference in someone else’s life and in this world,” Paterno said.
Students such as Shyquel Allison seem to agree with Paterno.
“On MLK day I was the keynote speaker at a nonprofit organization on Washington St. called D-Up,” Allison said. “I am extremely grateful that I was able to have had the opportunity to speak to the youth about having visions, goals, and dreams. I hope it was as rewarding for them as it was for me.”
In all, 550 HPU students came out to participate during the Day of Service. Although MLK Day has passed, HPU offers many chances to volunteer throughout the year.
