On Jan. 18, the University of Oregon Holden Center for Leadership and Community Engagement continued its tradition of hosting a “Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service” to “cultivate a spirit of engagement and service on campus and in the community” ahead of MLK Day.
MLK was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement. His contributions to the Civil Rights Movement and communities across the United States are now honored on the third Monday of every January, which the Holden Center aims to uphold with its MLK Day of Service.
The Holden Center has three “Days of Service” programs every academic year, one for each term. The winter term “Day of Service” is dedicated to MLK.
The Holden Center partnered with the following four Lane County organizations for a day full of service projects: Crafting Change, Food for Lane County Youth Farm, Olive Plaza and United Way of Lane County.
Zoë Holguin, UO student and program assistant for Days of Service, said the Holden Center partnered with these organizations because it strives to eliminate poverty.
“(The Holden Center’s) theme with this is following Dr. King’s values of fighting against the three evils of racism, poverty and militarism and we wanted to focus more on poverty alleviations with these partners because homelessness is a big issue here in Eugene and all these different organizations are striving to eliminate poverty,” Holguin said.
Volunteers who participated in the projects got involved by sewing menstrual kits, sifting soil, helping senior citizens and organizing a book drive.
Rae Orsolino, a UO student and volunteer at the Youth Farm, said that small steps to community betterment can have an important role in addressing large-scale issues.
“(MLK) said the main enemy is racism, poverty and war, and in a way Food for Lane County is tackling that poverty issue and I think it’s a great way of continuing his legacy in small ways, (because) whatever counts,” Orsolino said.
UO student LaMar Davis said they helped out to continue the “tradition” of honoring MLK.
“I chose to volunteer because my family always celebrated MLK and we always volunteer … it’s usually a tradition so I just want to continue that,” Davis said.
According to Melissa Yamamoto, director of the Holden Center, volunteering is an important part of getting to know the community, especially for newer students who recently moved to the area.
“I feel good when I’ve been able to help somebody else and so I think (that volunteering) contributes to our students’ wellness and their sense of feeling connected to both the UO community as well as the local community,” Yamamoto said.
