With just over a month before Martin Luther King Junior Day, faith and community leaders already are preparing for the annual MLK Day of Service and encouraging volunteers to sign up.
It marks the sixth annual local Day of Service, but the goal is to expand beyond Buffalo, said Faustina Morrow, one of the event's organizers and founder of the Monarch of Infinite Possibilities.
“We want to expand out to Niagara Falls and Lackawanna, and all of Western New York. Because imagine when we have thousands of people who come out, then it will be some place for them to go," she said. "And the reality is, this isn’t just a one-day, come out and volunteer because you’re off from work. This is really a way to connect the community.”
Volunteers carry out a variety of services within the community, from painting walls and church cleaning to sorting baby supplies, and signups already are flowing in through the East Side Stewards online portal, Morrow said.
Elim Christian Fellowship Reverend Ahmad Randall is participating for the first time. It’s impactful to know the amount of dedication required for the Day of Service, Randall said.
“It requires work. And so, I encourage those who are volunteering (to) know that this is not a shabby situation. You know, this is, this is something that requires intentionality and initiative," he said. "And so, we hope that they have that same spirit of intentionality and initiative when they sign up.”
The Day of Service will start at 7:30 a.m. January 19th at Bethel A-M-E Church on Michigan Avenue.
