By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, when Bowling Green State University asked King’s most persistent and important question, “What are you doing for others?”, the answer was loud and clear.
Nearly 450 people showed up for the university’s 16th annual MLK Jr. Day of Service. They started the morning at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union and then dispersed to 25 various campus and community sites, all to honor the legacy of King by helping others.
Instead of a day off, it was a day on for students, faculty, staff and community members. They braved the frigid temperatures on the national holiday to help at food pantries, animal shelters, and libraries. They contributed to sustainability efforts and provided basic needs for people across northwest Ohio.
According to Kendra Lutes, associate director of the C. Raymond Marvin Center for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement which oversees the event, the number of participants this year was nearly three times more than they had the previous two years. Last year, there were 160 participants, and in 2022, approximately 120 people completed the day of service.
Dr. Joe B. Whitehead, BGSU provost and senior vice president, grew up in Mississippi and was seven years old when King was assassinated. He experienced the inequality that King fought against.
“When I was a kid going to the movies, the theater had two tiers: the lower tier was for whites and the upper tier for Blacks, and we all paid the same price,” he said during the opening remarks.
“The legacy of Dr. King was for everyone to have a fair and equitable chance in America,” Whitehead said. He challenged the participants to think about King’s legacy when they are providing service and to think about what their impact will be in the future.
“We have to work together to make a better country, especially with a lot of things happening in the U.S. and around the world that are unfair and atrocious,” he said. “We depend on you to lead us into the future to work together for equality, fairness and a safe planet.”
Reflecting on King’s legacy
The Day of Service for President’s Leadership Academy member Matthew Cole was a full-circle experience. The Detroit native who is a freshman at BGSU has had a lifetime of doing community service for others. About giving back to his new community by making blankets for Wood Lane Residential Services’ residents, he said, “It feels like I’m home.”
The opportunity to honor King’s legacy on MLK Jr. Day was also special for Cole because he attended the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Detroit last July. The event commemorated the 60th anniversary of King’s 1963 Walk to Freedom down Detroit’s Woodward Avenue, where he debuted a version of his “I Have a Dream” speech two months before he delivered it in Washington, D.C.
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of his most notable speeches, Dr. Katie Stygles, interim chief diversity and belonging officer at BGSU, said during the morning presentation. “His dream for racial equality and equity is one I long for still today,” she said.
However, his true dream was for “a beloved community, which he believed was practical, realistic and achievable,” Stygles said.
BGSU seeks the concept of a beloved community, as well.
“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality: whatever affects one directly affects us all,” she said. Because the current generation seems to have a better understanding of the issues compared to previous generations, Stygles said, “You are the reason we can believe in the possibility of Dr. King’s vision.”
Taking time to reflect on King’s legacy, was important for Jenna Morgan and Eleanor Curlis, first-year students in the Honors Learning Community. As they expertly cut and tied a bee-themed blanket at WLRS, they talked about the importance of having a day devoted to thinking about the impact of Martin Luther King Jr.
“If you want to do something for others, it helps to think about history,” Curlis said. “We often don’t realize how fortunate we are until we are in a situation where we giving back to people less fortunate.”
Morgan, who loves making flannel tie blankets, was excited about the opportunity.
“We know about Dr. King and his legacy, but we never aligned our service to him before,” she said. “This kind of work adds value to the community and makes us remember what he went through. It’s an honor to continue his legacy of service to others.”
Madison James and Alana Daleccio, freshmen in the BGSU Honors Learning Community, agreed they liked BGSU’s statement that “it is not a day off but a day on,” despite the fact it was a day off from classes. They also made flannel blankets for the adults served by Wood Lane Residential Services.
“We didn’t have anything else to do. This seemed like it would be something fun to do together,” James said.
“It was a way to continue to serve others,” Daleccio said, adding, “It was good that we weren’t just sitting in our dorms today.”
At the Wood County Human Society, Alexis Priebe and Kaitlyn Altobelli, both freshmen at BGSU, were scrubbing walls and cuddling with cats for their service.
“I wanted to make a difference, today,” Priebe said. “To the extent that MLK Jr. Day of Service is about helping others, it is beyond helping people but also other creatures, all to make a difference.”
Madison Feehan, a freshman from Bradner, Ohio, had the responsibility of being the site leader at the humane society. She was responsible for communicating the needs of the shelter to the volunteers and helping them reflect on their service.
“Service, in the name of Dr. King, is about being humble and wanting to service others. Like Dr. King, I believe in fighting for the greater good and being selfless,” she said.
London Kelly, a member of the 2022-23 President’s Leadership Academy cohort, agreed to be the site leader at WLRS to help develop her leadership skills and meet new people.
“For me, I carry Dr. King’s legacy with me every day,” she said. She appreciated the opportunity to serve others and think about his legacy. One of her goals is to help people and to see the results of her efforts.
Strong community partnerships
The MLK Jr. Day of Service at BGSU works well because the university has strong partnerships with nonprofits in the area, Lutes said. The Marvin Center staff started calling the local nonprofits to make them aware of the service possibility for MLK Jr. Day in January.
“We tell them, if they need help, they can work directly with us to connect students to their cause,” she said.
The cold weather this week did delay a few of the service assignments. “For those sites that were outside, we told them we could come back in a month or so to complete the work,” Lutes said.
The connection between the greater Bowling Green and northwest Ohio community is an important part of BGSU’s mission to be a public university for the public good, Lutes said.
“We encourage students to get out into the greater community not only to volunteer but to make deep connections with the community they live in for nine months of the year,” she said.
“It really heightens a student’s sense of belonging to make connections in the greater area in addition to the campus.”
Feehan, who was the site leader at the Wood County Humane Society, appreciates the connections BGSU has to the community and the vast number of service opportunities that are available to students. “There are many nonprofits that need help. This is a way to connect students to the community to give back to the community that is so welcoming to them,” she said.
Wood Lane Residential Services asked students to make flannel tie blankets for its residents for the Day of Service activity. The nonprofit provides services to adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
Cal Bowers, executive director and chief operating officer of Wood Lane Residential Services Foundation, said the nonprofit participated to introduce students to what they do and give them an opportunity to serve others.
“The university’s mission to be ‘a public university for the public good’ fits so well with our mantra,” Bowers said, which uses the hashtag “ServeWithTheHeart.”
“It’s a win-win for students and for Wood Lane Residential and the individuals we serve,” he said.
The Wood County Humane Society has had volunteers for many of the past MLK Jr. Day of Service events, said Megann Smith, shelter manager and BGSU alumna.
Past service projects often were bigger projects, such as cleaning and organizing the shelter’s large storage areas. The cold weather prevented that work, so a “small but mighty corps of volunteers” worked indoors this year.
“It was tight quarters, but there is always plenty to do,” Smith said. The students did some office work and wiped down walls, which are often sneezed or slobbered on when dogs move through the space.
“We are a small organization. With more hands to help, the small details get done that we often don’t have time for when we are dealing with other priorities,” she said.
Dillon Teamer, a second-year finance major and student speaker in the morning session, told his peers, “We are here to create a world where love and acceptance are the driving force of everything we do. … Any opportunity that you have to give back is the best way to leave your mark. As Dr. King said, ‘Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.’”
