Create an MLK Day of Service at your Institution

Not as "day off" but a "day on"

The League of Innovation conference

March 12-15, 2017, San Francisco, CA

Presenter: Dr. Leo Parvis, Dunwoody College, Minneapolis, MN

DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE OF PROJECT:

To create a program that exemplifies a day of service in our institution and surrounding communities. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy, this program will designate a day of service at your institution. Students and interested faculty/staff will engage in volunteering their services to their local communities. The purpose of serving the community in multiple capacities is to demonstrate the mission and vision of your college and humanitarian efforts with the guidance of lead project organizers and other volunteer faculty and staff members. This Day of Service will emulate similar events at other colleges.

The Day of Service begins with a short ceremony and opening remarks by the college president followed by brief presentations of guest speakers.

COLLABORATIVE NATURE OF PROJECT:

This project will require working with many community organizations to establish relationships. We believe this program can help spread the word about the mission of your college to the community. We would appreciate and welcome all other interested faculty and staff to be involved with this project.

EXAMPLE OF SERVICES

Service projects that leverage volunteers with organizations that work to mitigate food insecurity, such as collecting donations for food banks, helping establish community gardens, packaging meals for donation;help senior citizens communities; cleaning up gutters for elders; help paint homes for low-income families; paint over graffiti; among others.

COMMITTEE, ORGANIZERS (8-10 members)

Diversity Council or leadership team (2)

Faculty (2)

Staff (Dean of Students); Student Services Staff (2); other college departments (2)

Students from different disciplines (2)

COMMITTEE ACTIONS

The members of the committee will meet every month for at least six months prior to the event. It is appropriate to start in August or sooner if possible.

Some colleges and universities hold the MLK of Service on or close to Dr. King’s actual birthday (Jan 15th).

The committee will elect a chairperson for coordination and organization.

Each member of the committee will take a role (sub-committee) and report the progress to the committee every month.

Example of sub-committees: search for speakers, marketing, community collaboration, entertainment committee (food, music, etc,).

One or two members shall be responsible to find a couple ofappropriate speakers; one speaker should be specialized in Dr. King’s history and legacy.

BUDGET

Based on benchmarking, the proposed budget is about $3000-$5000.

This may vary based on college budget and creativity of the committee.

Example: At Dunwoody College since 2002 when cultural diversity forums started, we have not paid more than $150.00 to speakers or performers. In fact, most speakers have been pro bono for the past 15 years. Dunwoody has brought 181 speakers to the campus since 2002 for 85 forums held to this day.

EXPENSES:

  1. Program posters/flyers/brochures, etc.
  2. Breakfast and snacks
  3. Music/dance performance
  4. T-Shirts to be distributed to guests and students who are involved in the Day of Service
  5. Gifts for speakers
  6. Other expenses

PROJECT SUCCESS MEASUREMENT:

Measurement of the MLK Day of Service will be a reporting of the number of students, staff and faculty involved in the event and the number of completed activities/tasks and the completion of an evaluation by the communities served. Students may also be asked for their evaluation of participating in the service day. Results will be calculated and shared the following week.

Second, we will ask the community organizations to complete an assessment document about the students who volunteered. This form will need to be simple yet provide information that relates to the students’ behavior. Finally, we will complete an assessment regarding the students’ completion of the activity based on the acquired competency.

THE ITENERARY OF THE DAY OF SERVICE

Hand out to distribute (sample from MCTC)

T-Shirts (samplefrom MCTC)

Some slides of the event to show

Some Resource Information

Grants: Mini grants are available ($1000-$3000) from the following site:

In 2016 Iowa Campus Compact (IACC) awarded grants to 40 collegesand universities around the nation.

The following institutions have held MLK Day of Service

StateCollege of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF) will sponsor its fourth annual community MLK Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 16, 2017.

The MLK Day of Service Advisory Board in collaboration with St. Petersburg College has awarded funds to local organizations to host service projects scheduled.

The MLK Day of Service Advisory Board under the auspices of Broward Collegemeets an identified community need and engages volunteers in service.

MLK Day of Service and Leadership is sponsored by the Honey W. Nashman Center for Interfaith Dialogue: They partnership with schools and community-based non-profit organizations.

Iowa Campus Compact (IACC) has awarded grants to 40 colleges and universities across the U.S. as part of the MLK Day of Service Community Partnership Project, which provides funding for service projects that work toward alleviating hunger and supporting veterans.
The 2016-17 grant recipients include:

  • American University Center for Community Engagement & Service
  • Bard College
  • Belmont University
  • Berry College
  • Broome Community College
  • Buena Vista University
  • Central College
  • Coe College
  • Concordia University-Portland
  • Drake University
  • Florida International University
  • Grand View University
  • Kent State University
  • North Carolina Central University
  • Oregon State University
  • Otterbein University
  • Owens Community College
  • Pfeiffer University
  • Raritan Valley Community College
  • Rogers State University
  • Rutgers University Newark
  • Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
  • Sam Houston State University
  • Spokane Falls Community College
  • SUNY Geneseo
  • Syracuse University
  • University of California, Los Angeles
  • University of Central Arkansas
  • University of Colorado Boulder
  • University of Maine
  • University of Montana
  • University of Mount Union
  • University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  • University of Northern Iowa
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of South Carolina Leadership and service center
  • West Virginia University
  • Western Illinois University- Quad Cities
  • Winthrop University
  • Youngstown State University

The purpose of the MLK Day Community Partnership Project is to mobilize college students, community members and community organizations to observe MLK Day not as “day off,” but as a “day on”. Grants range from $1,000 to $3,000.

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