From the BGSU OFFICE OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
More than 1,000 BGSU students, faculty and staff expected to participate in 9th Annual MLK Jr. Day of Service
More than 1,000 Bowling Green State University students, faculty and staff members are expected to participate in the 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, an annual community service event.
MLK Jr. Day begins at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 16 with volunteer check-in and breakfast; an opening ceremony begins at 10 a.m. featuring keynote speaker Ty Boyd, a 2009 Construction Management and President’s Leadership Academy alumnus. Volunteers will assist community partners between 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. A closing ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. The ceremonies will take place in the BGSU Bowen-Thompson Student Union Lenhart Grand Ballroom.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., volunteers serve on MLK Jr. Day to make it “a day on, not a day off.” Volunteers will work at approximately 48 community partner sites during the day. Community partners design a service project for the volunteers to complete as a team.
This year’s projects include:
- Working alongside Owens Community College students on a variety of projects aimed at inspiring others to join in caring for animals and conserving the natural world at The Toledo Zoo.
- Painting the Lott Industries Shared Lives Studio and Gallery, 20 North St. Clair St., Toledo
- Designing meal-delivery bags for the Wood County Committee on Aging, BGSU Bowen-Thompson Student Union Lenhart Grand Ballroom
- Building and refurbishing picnic tables for the Wood County Park District, 18729 Mercer Road, Bowling Green.
- Other service projects include cleaning, painting, canvassing, organizing files and other office items and sorting donations.
This year, BGSU is proud to be a member of the inaugural MLK Jr. Season of Service Consortium of Northwest Ohio. The consortium includes Bowling Green State University, Lourdes University, Mercy College, Owens Community College, the University of Toledo and the United Way of Greater Toledo.
This group has collaborated to organize MLK Jr.-related events, educational programs and volunteer activities in the northwest Ohio region that will take place from Jan. 9 to 22.
As part of this effort, regional higher education partners have committed to send more than 1,300 student, faculty and staff volunteers to serve at 60 community sites providing needed services and assistance. BGSU has played a key leadership role in the group, as we have the largest and longest-running day of service in the region.
