January 15, 2015 would have been Martin Luther King's 86th birthday. To help celebrate the civil rights activist's birthday and Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service, the generationOn team, together with Target, hosted a day of service for the students of PS/MS 57 James Weldon Johnson Leadership Academy in NYC.
Over 100 Target volunteers helped 6th, 7th and 8th graders rotate through service projects ranging from making homemade tambourines for a special needs preschool music program; to packing healthy soup kits for food insecure families; to making peace bracelets spreading Dr. King's message of tolerance. There was even a station where kids could pose for an Instagram to honor Dr. King's birthday and think about how he would have used the platform to help spread his message of hope.
After rotating through the various service stations, the students of MS 57 were tasked with writing and decorating messages of hope as a reflection activity. Here you can see one of the squares with the quote "We must learn to live together as brothers of perish as fools." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These squares were ultimately stiched together, making a quilt that will hang in the school.
During the event, students were asked what MLK Day of Service means to them and why it's important to honor his legacy with service. Here are a few of the responses:
"It's important because we're showing our love for him and thanking him for standing up for us." - Ashley
"He did something no one else did and represented democracy." - Janna
"It's important because we should team up together and not argue about things." - James
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