MCC Daily Tribune Archive

January 16th 2016 was no ordinary Saturday. Millions of Americans celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in local community service projects. It was a national “day on, not a day off.”  Here in Rochester the event was declared the biggest and best yet with a record breaking 400+ volunteers congregating at the Stardust Ballroom early Saturday morning. After raffle prizes were won and Roberts Wesleyan’s SMAC Step Team performed, our own AmeriCorps member, Shaq Payne, took the stage with Roc Bottom Slam Team. He explained to the crowd why he decided to dedicate his time to others saying, “I do service because I know what it feels like to need services.” Wrapping up the festivities, keynote speaker, Tunya Griffin, delivered powerful words to motivate the volunteers before sending them off to their various service sites. She spoke of how service creates a stronger society and moves us closer to Dr. King’s goal of “the beloved community.”

Even in our Rochester community we saw a great diversity of participants. AmeriCorps programs; college students from Nazareth to UofR and RIT; RCSD high schoolers, church groups, and other local organizations such as the Rochester Black Bar Association who served with our group at Foodlink all exuded a spirit of service. Whether people were serving at Mary’s Place, YWCA, Foodlink, InterVol, or the Gandhi Institute, just to name a few sites, they were serving to meet a variety of pressing community needs and bring greater awareness to the many local non-profits in need of assistance. 

Rochester AmeriCorps brought 34 members, friends and family to volunteer at Foodlink. After a morning of sorting food donations and organizing warehouses, the group reflected on MLK’s teachings and how they influence our service. Dr. King’s values easily coincide with the AmeriCorps pledge to build safer, stronger and healthier communities; take action in the face of apathy, and persevere through adversity. All of those who participated in the event were able to answer Dr. King’s life question “What are you doing for others?”