Posts Tagged ‘Martin Luther King Jr’

Serve for a Cause

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Anyone can be great because everybody can serve.” It can be easy for a volunteer to question the difference they can make. What can really change in an afternoon of volunteering? A lot.posed girl on ladder paints

Points of Light’s MLK Day of Service is just one example of how the community can change in one afternoon. On Monday, January 16th thousands of volunteers of all ages, races, ethnicity, religion and gender will band together to make one movement that will leave a huge impact on our nation. This year we have approximately 300 service projects that will cover a wide range of impact areas such as environment, education, homelessness and hunger, and disaster relief efforts.

US Poverty Rate ChartWith the declining economy and 46.2 million people living in poverty in the United States (according to the US Census Bureau, the need for volunteers is greater than ever. MLK Day of Service engages over 220,000 volunteers in just one day. One hour of volunteer labor is worth $21.36 in the United States (as estimated by The Independent Sector). This MLK Day of Service, volunteers will contribute approximately $14.1 million worth of service back to communities.

The impact that our volunteers will make on Monday will mean more than just money. It will mean a warm meal in an empty stomach, a more beautiful park for our children to enjoy, smiling senior citizens at a retirement home, a new home for a family that dreamed of one, a day of fun for children, and communities joining together to help one another.Martin Luther King, Jr.

That is exactly what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. meant when he said anybody can be great. It is easy to look at an afternoon of volunteering as just one afternoon, but that one afternoon could mean the world to someone in need.

How will you celebrate that contribution this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Let us know in the comments below!

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Posted in Economy, Events, Inspire, Service, Volunteerism | 3 Comments »

Focusing on the Giving in Thanksgiving

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Today’s post comes from Michael Nealis, Interactive Strategy Coordinator for Points of Light Institute.

A few years ago, my best friend and I decided to break with tradition and host our own Thanksgiving dinner.

It started out simply enough. The first year we ran a race on Thanksgiving morning then cooked dinner for twelve people. Then things got a little out of hand.

You see, that first year was pretty easy, so each year we tried to have a bigger dinner than the previous year, just to see how many people we could end up cooking for.

This year looks like it’s going to be the biggest one yet. We’re looking at around forty people on the guest list, and we’re planning to start prepping the meal three days before we serve it.

There is no ordinary turkey for us. Instead, we make a turducken.

This year is going to be a little different, though. we’re still going to have a massive amount of food and friends, a lot of laughter, and everyone’s going to eat way too much. Who are we to mess with tradition?

We’re starting a new tradition this year, though. This year we’re asking our guests to bring a donation for the Freestore Foodbank in Cincinnati.

The idea came up when we were making plans for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. We realized we weren’t going to be able to run the race on Thanksgiving morning like we usually do (the race supports Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati), and we were wondering how we could still support a nonprofit in Cincinnati over Thanksgiving.

So, this year, we’re asking our guests to bring themselves, their families, and a little bit extra to help out the people in Cincinnati who might not be having a big Thanksgiving dinner with their families this year.

Our dinner is a great opportunity for all of us to take some time to think about Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which isn’t very far away. Dr. King’s envisioned a beloved community where people would not stand for their neighbors to be homeless or hungry, where human existence is social and we reach out to our neighbors to come together.

If you’re wondering how you can turn your Thanksgiving dinner into something a little bit bigger, check out the MLK Day Toolkit for some ideas on how to start a conversation about how to address the issues that are affecting your community.

You don’t have to talk about hunger issues, we decided to support a food bank because of the massive amount of food that’s going into one meal, you can talk about kids not having anywhere safe to play in your neighborhood, or how you can help people without a home find a safe place to sleep, or talk about how to support a school where students may not have all of the supplies that they need.

There are a lot of ways that you can start making a change in your neighborhood with your Thanksgiving dinner. It doesn’t have to be a big change, it doesn’t even have to be a move to action. Even the smallest changes start with a conversation about what needs to be done and how you can make that change a reality.

So, in between welcoming family and friends into your home this Thanksgiving, checking that the turkey is done, and watching football, try to take a few minutes to talk about what you and your friends can do to make your community just a little bit better.

Who knows what plans can be made over a second helping of mashed potatoes.

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Posted in Inspire, Just for Fun, Neighboring | 2 Comments »

Day of Service Inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Today’s post originally appeared on the HandsOn Jacksonville Blog on January 26, 2011.

HandsOn Jacksonville and the Teacher Supply Depot hosted a day of family fun and volunteering on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  Grown ups and kids alike had fun painting flower pots for seniors and making recyclable bags for beach cleanups.  There were craft stations set up all over the old school which houses the supply depot, including doll and bracelet making.

The Teacher’s Supply Depot is a nonprofit that gathers donated goods and hosts give-aways for district schools. Teachers, principals and PTAs can come get paper, educational material, art supplies and much more for free!

The entire building is full of amazing supplies with a room dedicated just for crafts and ideas for projects posted on the bulletin boards. It’s hard not to get inspired to create something while walking through the halls.

After the pictures were painted and crafts were made the History Channel’s documentary film King was shown in honor of MLK Jr. Day because even though everyone had fun painting, gluing and crafting it was good to remember why we were there. The legacy of Dr. King inspires us to do something GOOD every chance we get and there’s no harm in having a little fun while we’re at it, right?

Today’s post was written by Emilee Speck, an intern for HandsOn Jacksonville and journalism major at the University of North Florida.  To find out more about HandsOn Jacksonville, please visit their website.

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Posted in Events, Service, Volunteering | No Comments »

Follow the Leader

Tuesday, January 18th, 2011

Today marks the first day of a brand new game for social good.  Remember Tag?  Now we’re playing Follow the Leader!

Yesterday’s Marin Luther King, Jr. Day brought thousands of people into their communities to serve.  Follow the Leader channels that energy and engagement into a more sustainable commitment to service.  Follow the Leader looks to take the one-day commitment to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of community and drive a commitment to community service as a way to address some of the nation’s most pressing challenges.

Follow the Leader is easy, just like when you played it when you were younger.  When you register on the Follow the Leader site, you’ll be able to choose a Project Playbook – a step by step project guide for project implementation and management that helps to guide you from the idea of implementing a service project in your community to a successful day of service.

The Project Play books are available in four issue areas:

  • Economy
  • Education
  • Emergency Preparedness and Recovery
  • Environment

By playing Follow the Leader, you’re a game change in your community.  Every act of service and each commitment to create change, no matter how large or small, creates an impact in your community.  When you get involved with Follow the Leader, you can find a tested an successful service project, download the project toolkit, invite friends and family to help in your project, and be the leader for positive change in your community.

When you play Follow the Leader, you don’t only get the sense of satisfaction of helping to improve your community – you’re eligible for prizes, too!  Each month has a different prize, and at the end of Follow the Leader, one person will win a week-long volunteer vacation for two to HandsOn Manilla!

Take today to continue your work from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Follow the Leader!

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Posted in Get HandsOn, Inspire, Mobilize, Volunteer Leader, Volunteer Project Development, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »

America’s Sunday Supper

Monday, January 17th, 2011

It’s amazing what can happen when people come together over a meal.  You can watch the worry from the day melt away.  Our recent triumphs, and our little successes, are celebrated when we come together.  Our worries and our burdens are lessened because we share them with others.  Strangers become friends and friendships that already exist are strengthened through the simple act of sharing food.

If you’re lucky, the meal goes late into the night and conversations move towards things that are taboo to talk about around strangers – wishes and fears, hopes and dreams, “is” and “ought.”  At this point, though, you’re no longer strangers.  You’ve shared something more than food.  You’ve had the opportunity to share yourself with others.

If we start to integrate the idea that we can make money AND do good… our country can roar again – Robert Egger, America’s Sunday Supper

What do you think would happen if we sat down for a meal with the goal of talking about wishes and fears, about our hopes and dreams right from the start?  What if took the opportunity to talk about the community we wished we lived in; if we talked about our dreams of a better place to live?

I cannot be well unless others around me are. – Barton Seaver, America’s Sunday Supper

Last night was an opportunity to have those conversations.  People across the country came together to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. by hosting meals where people talked about their hopes for their community.  These dinners were safe places for people to talk about their community’s most pressing needs, and to take the first steps to solving those problems.

You can always lift yourself by lifting others. – Carl Lewis, America’s Sunday Supper

The greatest thing about these Sunday Suppers is that there wasn’t a requirement for how they should be held.  There are people hosting meals in their homes.  There are people hosting meals in community spaces.  There are people hosting meals in restaurants.  Some people are inviting people that they know, some people have open invitations, and some people are putting on events with community members and nonprofits coming together to learn about the community’s problems from each other.  Some people had brunches in the morning, and some people had lunches on Saturday afternoon.

If you tell people’s stories, I think the anger [towards them] disappates. – Michelle Nunn, America’s Sunday Supper

One of those conversations was America’s Sunday Supper.  Fox News’ Juan Williams moderated a discussion between Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post, Olympic Legend Carl Lewis, Producer and Director S. Leo Chiang, CEO of Points of Light Institute and Co-Founder of HandsOn Network Michelle Nunn, Robert Egger from the DC Central Kitchen, NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo and National Geographic Fellow Barton Seaver.  The hour long conversation (that you can watch here) was an inspiring way to move from talking about service to engaging our community in action that leads to improving our community.

Let us know what you thought of America’s Sunday Supper.  Did it inspire you to start change in your community?  Did you hold your own Sunday Supper yesterday?  Are you planning on having a Sunday Supper in the future?  Let us know in the comments!

Tags: America's Sunday Supper, Arianna Huffington, Carl Lewis, Dikembee Mutombo, Juan Williams, , , Robert Egger, S. Leo Chiang
Posted in Events, Inspire | No Comments »

Kraft Foods Helps Make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Delicious

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Kraft Foods, volunteer, volunteering, volunteerismThis guest post comes from Nicole Robinson, Vice President of the Kraft Foods Foundation.

Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?

A powerful quote from Martin Luther King Jr., a man whose legacy we honor this week on the 25th anniversary of the holiday named for him.

Through these words, Dr. King challenged each us to “apply our citizenship to the fullness of its meaning” through service to our communities.  Today and throughout the year, we should ask ourselves, how are helping our most vulnerable; how are we preserving our planet; and ultimately how are we making our neighborhoods better places to live?

At Kraft Foods, we often ask ourselves these questions. As the second-largest food company in the world, living up to the challenge of community involvement is a mission we share with our consumers, customers and nonprofit partners.  It is, in fact, our responsibility.

Naturally, we were delighted when HandsOn Network invited us to honor Dr. King’s legacy through a series of service events and community conversations.  We’re excited about the activities planned, which I personally hope will serve as catalyst for year-round civic engagement.

On Sunday, we’ll attend America’s Sunday Supper at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., where I will join several amazing panelists to talk volunteerism, social issues and ways to turn our conversation into action. It is sure to be an engaging, exciting evening. Make sure to tune in!

My Kraft Foods family will do more than watch, as many of them are volunteering in communities across the country, including Chicago, Illinois and Madison, Wisconsin. Our employees are energetic, full of optimism, bubbling with ideas, and eagerly want to be involved.   We’re proud of what they will accomplish as they serve in a variety of projects including those that fight hunger and help families get active.

And to help the organizations serving our communities daily, we’re encouraging employees to make cash donations to the nonprofits of their choice in honor of the MLK holiday.  In turn, the Kraft Foods Foundation will match every dollar donated, up to $250,000 and through our combined efforts, we’ll contribute $750,000 to charitable organizations across America.

Again, I want to thank HandsOn Network and the Points of Light Institute for the opportunity to reflect and challenge ourselves to make a difference today and beyond. I’m looking forward to America’s Sunday Supper as this will indeed be a unique opportunity to connect and inspire through giving back. And remember you can be a part of conversation too, through Facebook and Twitter by using hash tag #MLK or

Nicole R. Robinson, Director of Corporate Community Involvement for Kraft Foods, leading philanthropic initiatives that are global in scope, reaching parts of  the US, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.  Nicole has served as a volunteer, board member and speaker to numerous organizations.   In 2009, Nicole testified at a congressional subcommittee hearing considering the establishment of a White House Conference on Food and Nutrition.  Nicole serves on the Corporate Committee of the Chicago Consortium to Lower Childhood Obesity in Chicago, the Council on Foundation’s Committee on Corporate Grantmaking, the Illinois Hunger Advisory Committee and the Chicago Foundation for Women board.

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Posted in Volunteerism | No Comments »

The Road to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: One Small Change

Monday, December 6th, 2010

You see them all around you every day.  Small ways that the world can be better.

You might see them on your way home from work, or on the way to the grocery store.  You might see them on the way to a friend’s house or on the news tonight.

They aren’t big things.  They’re so small you might not even notice them.

There is so much that you can do in your community to help solve its problems.

If we all took some time and lent our talents and abilities to solving our community’s problems, they’d be well on their way to being solved.

You might be wondering what you can do.  The problems seem so big.  Maybe it’s time to turn the question around to, “What can’t I do.”  The list is a lot shorter than you realize.

You’re not being asked to solve the homelessness problem in your community.  You’re not being asked to feed all of the hungry people.  You’re not being asked to help all of the children to do better in school.

Just one person.

You can stand up and say that you’re not going to let a man continue to live without shoes on his feet.  You can stand up and say that you’re not going to let a woman not be able to read to her children.  You can stand up and say that you’re not going to let your neighbor go hungry.

Just one person.

One person, working to change their world.  Someone making small changes in our world that, when we start to add them up, turns into big changes.  That change into massive movements.

That start with just one person.

If you’re not sure where to start, you can come join us as we work towards changing our world.  We’re working towards small changes.  We want people to come together and talk about how to change their world.  You can start a conversation around a meal and use that as a platform to start acting towards the changes you want to see in your community.  You can come together with members of your community to for the better.  You can stand side by side with people in your community and make the small changes that lead to bigger changes.

You can tell your story of service and inspire others to begin making small changes with you.

Tonight on your way home from work, or tomorrow on your way to the grocery store, look for the small thing that you can change.  When you go to visit your friend this weekend or watch the news tonight, look for the small thing that you can change.  Join the hundreds of people in your community and thousands upon thousands across the country that are making small changes that are leading up to making our world a better place for everyone.

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Posted in Mobilize, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »

Michelle Nunn – Stories from the Road

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Recently, Michelle participated in the Gulf South Summit at the .

While there, she learned about the Stop Sex Trafficking Project (STOP) and later told us about it.

STOP is an initiative that grew out of a required first year course at called “Engaging the World.”

Class participants studied Judeo-Christian ideas of ethics and justice and read authors such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr., and Abraham Heschel.

The students also read from the Bible and found resonance with the call to “loose the bonds of injustice, undo the thongs of the yoke, and let the oppressed go free” (Isaiah 58:6); and to Matthew 25:40,  “Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.”

Their readings led them to view their own community through new eyes and to talk about the injustices they saw.

Exploring the issues of poverty, education, and race, they noticed the excessive number of billboards on the nearby interstate advertising for massage parlors.

After extensive research, they discovered the voiceless women and children who, lured by fraud, deception, and coercion, were enslaved as prostitutes in their home town of  , Georgia.

The students wrote essays, pamphlets and blog posts about the injustice and soon realized that their efforts were larger than a class project. Real women were suffering.

The Mercer students believed they could help.

Their movement quickly grew to include additional students and, ultimately, their efforts enabled the release of six women who had previously been enslaved.

Theirs is a powerful and inspiring story.

When people believe they can make a difference, they do.

After hearing about these students, I found myself thinking about their professor.

How might each of us inspire a similar confidence in the young people we influence?

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Posted in Education, Equip, Impact, Inspire, Michelle Nunn, Mobilize, Stories from the Road, Volunteering, Volunteerism | No Comments »