Message from Our Executive Director: Honor the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Jan. 17

Serve Washington's Executive Director, Amber Martin-Jahn, shares a message highlighting the connection beteeen Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and AmeriCorps and a call to action encouaging every Washigtonian to honor Dr. King's legacy by particpating in a sercice project Jan. 17.

The 2022 MLK Day of Service is almost here. People throughout the state of Washington - and across the country - are rolling up their sleeves in service. Are you ready to serve? 

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is a defining event when people across the country step up to make their communities more equitable and take action to build the Beloved Community of Dr. King’s dream.  

The global pandemic and events of 2020 and 2021 have opened our eyes wider to inequities in our communities. Fifty years ago, Dr. King spoke of a fierce urgency of now, during his famous and historical march on Washington. While Dr. King believed the Beloved community was possible, he acknowledged and fought for systemic change. His words remain our call to action. The time is now to act with swift urgency to deliver on the promise of Dr. King’s example and mission.  

Making time to volunteer for the MLK Day of Service is a great way to engage in your community while honoring the legacy of Dr. King.  

Serve Washington’s AmeriCorps members will be leading service projects throughout the state of Washington, including cleaning up public space, collecting essential needs items for organizations fighting social injustice, mentoring young people, and facilitating dialogue that explores ways to address inequity. However, you don’t have to be an AmeriCorps member to participate. 

Whether you’re a service commissioner, elected official or member of the public, Serve Washington is inviting everyone to join our AmeriCorps members in solidarity on Jan. 17 by honoring Dr. King through volunteerism. 

Find a Project 

If you want to join an organized service project, Serve Washington has a free, new Volunteer Connect tool. It lets you search for service projects by location, date, ability, organization and/or project focus.  

If you’re hosting an MLK Day of Service project, Volunteer Connect makes it easy for you to list your project so interested volunteers can sign up to participate. 

Share Your Success with Us 

Whether you’re serving in a group, or fulfilling individual acts of service, Serve Washington invites you to share photos, videos, and stories of your project.  Make sure to tag @ServeWashington and use #MLKDAY and #WeServeWA in your posts. We will be sharing these on our social media platforms on MLK Day and in the days immediately following. If you’re an AmeriCorps alum, you can add #IServeWA.

While much work remains to fulfil Dr. King’s dream of a Beloved Community, service can help unify people of all different backgrounds and experiences. Together we can build more equitable and just communities to underpin racial equality, expand civic opportunities and foster respect for individual differences.  

How will you step forward and serve this MLK Day? 

Sincerely,

Amber Martin-Jahn

Executive Director, Serve Washington