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© 2013 KentuckyGuard
Remember! Celebrate! Act!
Story courtesy Kentucky National Guard Equal Employment Opportunity Office
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”
On the third Monday in January each year, Americans answer that question by coming together on the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities. The day represents an opportunity to start the year off right by making a positive impact in one’s community.
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence. —Martin Luther King Jr
Legislation was signed in 1983, creating a federal holiday honoring the birthday of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday in 1994 as a national day of service, and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading this effort.
During his lifetime, King encouraged all citizens to pursue the purpose and potential of America. He strove to realize the dream of equality and a nation that affords freedom and justice for all. In this spirit, the act of volunteering and helping others realize their potential takes on special significance.
Volunteering remains a vibrant part of our nation’s fabric across generations, enriching both our communities and those who serve.
The MLK Day of Service is a way to channel King’s life and teachings into community action. King encouraged all citizens to apply the principles of nonviolence to make this country a better place to live—popularizing the notion of “The Beloved Community.” In Dr. King’s Beloved Community, people and communities would be united by inclusion, shared prosperity, and peaceful conflict resolution. In the spirit of the Beloved Community, Dr. King’s day of service is an opportunity to live out Dr. King’s life and teachings in communities around the world.
A 2013 U.S. Department of Labor report found that one in four adults donates time to volunteer organizations. Last year, 62.6 million Americans volunteered nearly 7.9 billion hours. The estimated value of this volunteer service is nearly $175 billion.
Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, who subsequent to 31 December 1992, perform outstanding volunteer community service of a sustained, direct and consequential nature. (U.S. Air Force graphic, AFNEWS/PAND)
Over the past six years, volunteering has also increased among teenagers (ages 16-19). Volunteers aged 65 and over spend more time engaging in volunteer activities than any other age group. Working mothers continue to volunteer at a higher rate than the population as a whole.
The Department of Defense values those who volunteer. One of the ways it demonstrates this is by honoring distinguished volunteers with the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. The medal was authorized in 1993 to members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Reserve components and is awarded for outstanding and sustained voluntary service to the civilian community. The front of the medal has a five-pointed star with a circular ring over each point; the star, a symbol of the military that also represents outstanding service, is encircled by a laurel wreath, which represents honor and achievement. The reverse has an oak leaf branch, symbolic of strength and potential, with three oak leaves and two acorns along with the inscriptions, “OUTSTANDING VOLUNTEER SERVICE,” and “UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.”
If you would like to join the hundreds of thousands of people who serve on MLK Day and throughout the year, find a project in your community or register your own project so that volunteers can find it.
Go to Serve.gov for more information.
keh
Pictures courtesy of the Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
FRANKFORT, Ky--Approximately 400 volunteers came out to Boone National Guard Center Saturday, May 14, to build 100 beds for children in Kentucky's Franklin, Fayette, Woodford and Jessamine counties during the Third Annual Build-A-Bed event hosted by SUCCESS Corp, a program of Kentucky Americorps (photo courtesy of the Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Office).
Frankfort, KY (May 14, 2011) – Approximately 400 volunteers came to Boone National Guard Center Saturday to build 100 beds for children in Kentucky’s Franklin, Fayette, Woodford and Jessamine counties at the Third Annual Build-A-Bed event hosted by SUCCESS Corp, a program of Kentucky Americorps.
“We are pleased and honored to once again host the Build-a-Bed event here at Boone Center,” said Maj. Gen. Edward Tonini, adjutant general of Kentucky. “You all have shown your dedication to the people of Kentucky by your volunteerism here on this rainy Saturday morning.”
Last year’s event at Boone Center served as the kickoff for the National Americorps Week of Service, with over 2,000 volunteers building 557 beds over a 2-day period.
“We are glad to have partners like the Kentucky National Guard, ” said Angela Baldridge, co-founder of the Build-a-Bed project. “Hosting this event in the hanger keeps us out of the rain today, and we thank you!”
In March of 2009, SUCCESS Corps identified the overwhelming need for beds, with many stories of children sleeping six to a mattress with parents and grandparents, children sleeping in the cold on uninsulated floors, in barns, or on uncomfortable couches night after night.
Many of these children have unimaginably difficult lives during the day, lives affected by poverty, family struggles, educational barriers, and more. Build-A-Bed, a community partnership of state agencies, military, churches, schools and non-profits, aims to help them improve their physical and emotional well-being and increase their chances of success in school by helping them sleep better.
FRANKFORT, Ky--Volunteers construct a bed during the Third Annual Build-A-Bed event at Kentucky's Boone National Guard Center (photo courtesy of the Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs).
FRANKFORT, Ky--Eileen Cackowski, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Community Volunteerism, and Maj. Gen. Edward Tonini, adjutant general of Kentucky, and listen to Col. Steve Bullard, event manager, prior to Third Annual Build-a-Bed event at Kentucky's Boone National Guard Center Saturday, May 14th (photo courtesy of the Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Office).
For more pictures from this event, visit our Flickr Page by clicking here.
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