In 1994, the Martin Luther King Jr., federal holiday was designated as a National Day of Service, and AmeriCorps was charged to lead this effort. The legislation was sponsored by civil rights hero and congressman from Atlanta, the late John Lewis, former AmeriCorps CEO, and the late Senator Harris Wofford. As the first federally declared day of service, MLK Day is a standing invitation each year for neighbors to band together to address community needs or to volunteer with an organization to do their part in building the community Dr. King envisioned for us all. Working side-by-side with one another as a team can accomplish incredible things, and that is AmeriCorps’ call to action.
For more than 30 years, AmeriCorps has endeavored to connect people with a passion for helping their community. Through programs available for nearly all age demographics, opportunities abound to make a difference locally or on a national level because we believe there is no better way to put aside differences and bridge divides than working side-by-side for a common goal.
Recently, AmeriCorps members traveled to Florida and the Carolinas to help with disaster recovery after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Mucking and gutting damaged homes and passing out food and supplies to victims didn’t only help those in need; it also made a positive impact on the lives of the volunteers. Even volunteers who were directly affected by the storms felt led to act.
AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers, like Belinda Williams in Topeka, Kansas, make a difference by sharing their life stories with the younger generation. Grandma Belinda, as she is known by everyone she meets, is originally from New Orleans but moved to Kansas after Hurricane Katrina displaced her from her home. Since August 2010, Grandma Belinda has served in the Foster Grandparent Program in Northeast Kansas, mentoring and tutoring elementary school students in the Topeka School District.
Through her service, Grandma Belinda nurtures students and helps them grow their skills in the classroom and build their confidence to become future leaders in their communities. On MLK Day, Grandma Belinda shares stories from her life lessons and experiences, which include growing up with American civil rights activist Ruby Bridges, the first African American child to attend a formerly whites-only elementary school, when the two lived in Louisiana. She teaches children how stories like Ruby’s show us the importance of unity and love.
Compassion Leads to Action
Volunteering and making the selfless choice to help someone in need is the cornerstone of the Beloved Community Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned. He believed in the power of a united community.
Jordan, an AmeriCorps member who served in the NCCC program, experienced first-hand the connection that comes from getting your hands dirty for a cause bigger than yourself.
During his service, Jordan spent three months in a Colorado town where he and his team members helped mitigate floodwaters that were anticipated after an intense wildfire and projected to damage much of the town's houses and displace hundreds of residents.
Coming from an urban community, Jordan said he had to overcome biases and cultural differences working in a rural area, but as he and his team joined forces with local community members, he understood the power of unity.
“I quickly felt at home working alongside people of varying political backgrounds devoted to a common cause: banding together a community in active rebellion against an existential threat,” Jordan recalled. “Similarly, my team’s diversity and energy eroded common myths that many locals held about urban millennials. They appreciated that we were willing to work hard and get our hands dirty.”
Jordan’s work was a small part of addressing that same geographic and age division being felt across the nation. But through acts of national service, he felt a growing genuine hope for the future. In helping someone else, he felt stereotypes and judgment being replaced with respect and understanding.
“Each interaction and workday helped renew hope in the future of the town – and in the United States itself,” he said.
AmeriCorps Answers the Call
By engaging with our neighbors to tackle local problems together, we remove the opportunity for social differences to divide our communities. And when we partner with local leaders to accomplish goals, we build bridges to strengthen the communities of tomorrow.
That was Dr. King’s dream for America. That we would exist in a world that looked beyond each other’s differences and worked side-by-side to tackle the needs of our communities.
This MLK Day, take the first step in solving problems in your community. The most wonderful thing about volunteering is that there is a place for everyone. Regardless of your skillset or abilities, there is an opportunity for you to make a difference, and AmeriCorps wants to help you find it. Find a volunteer opportunity near you for this MLK Day and every day after.
