Martin Luther King Jr. 'Day of Service' Activities Start Saturday

Monday, Jan. 21 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

For some, the national holiday honoring the prominent civil rights activist is a time to give back and serve the community, be it through removing graffiti or picking up litter in a local park.

For others, it’s an opportunity to educate themselves about King and his life's work. And for others, it’s a time to just kick back and enjoy the prolonged weekend.

The 2013 commemoration of the King Holiday coincides with the 57th Presidential Inauguration, which will include a National Day of Service, continuing a tradition set four years ago when President-elect Obama and his family joined in the MLK National Day of Service the day before the official swearing in.

The two service days bookend the weekend on Jan. 19 and 21 respectively. The inaugural occasion serves as a kick-off to committing to ongoing service in our  communities, focusing on seven issue areas: health, faith, education, the environment, honoring our veterans and military families, community resilience, and economic development.

Service activities officially start Saturday, Jan. 19, with a few on Monday, locally. Plug your ZIP code into this National Day of Service search tool for service activities in 

Here are a few, closest to home: 

Food Drive for Ecumenical Hunger Program - The program is collecting food donations for the Ecumenical Hunger Program, which provides emergency food, clothing, case management, and household essentials to families in need in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto; 12-5pm and 6:30-8pm on Saturday, Jan. 19 at the First Baptist Church at 305 N. California Avenue in Palo Alto

National Day of Service Socks for Vets Drive - Peninsula Peace and Justice Center is collecting new socks and t-shirts (or other very gently used clothing items) for veterans who are enrolled in the Foundations of Recovery (addiction recovery) program at the Menlo Park VA medical facility. Donations can be dropped off anytime during PPJC's annual Martin Luther King Birthday Community Sing Along, January 19, from 6:30 PM until 9:30 PM.  Details here.

Paly Community Garden Service Hour Help for one hour to help weed, prune, pick up trash, and in general get ready for spring planting at the Palo Alto High School community garden.  We'll be working from 9-10am Saturday, January 19.  The Paly Garden is in between the tennis courts and the soccor field, near El Camino on Paly Campus.

Silicon Valley's American Red Cross is hosting a MLK Day Disaster Preparedness Doorhanger Challenge and Scavenger Hunt on Jan. 21 from 1-4:00 p.m. and meeting up at the Sonoma Chicken Coop in downtown Campbell.

The Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department is holding a MLK Service Trail Day on Saturday, Jan. 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Santa Teresa County Park in San Jose.

The Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department is also holding a MLK Trail Service Day - Lexington Reservoir on Saturday, Jan. 19 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Lexington Reservoir in Los Gatos.

Tell us—What does Martin Luther King Jr. Day mean to you? What are you doing to commemorate King’s legacy?

The Holiday's History

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, now a U.S. holiday, took 15 years to create.

Legislation was first proposed by Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan) four days after King was assassinated in 1968.

The bill was stalled, but Conyers, along with Rep. Shirley Chisholm (D-New York), pushed for the holiday every legislative session until it was finally passed in 1983, following civil rights marches in Washington. 

Then-president Ronald Reagan signed it into law. Yet it was not until 2000 that every U.S. state celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by its name. Before then, states like Utah referred to the holiday more broadly as Human Rights Day. 

In 1994, Congress passed legislation encouraging the King federal holiday to be observed as a national day of service and charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with leading this national effort.

On the CNCS site, expresses it this way: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"

TELL US: What does MLK Day mean to you? Tell us in the comments.

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