Penn State students take ‘a day on, not a day off’ on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Penn State students had no classes Jan. 20 because of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but that didn’t stop dozens of them from taking the opportunity to give back to their community.
Volunteers in bright orange shirts gathered around tables in the HUB-Robeson Center’s Alumni Hall early Monday morning, eating the breakfast foods provided to them on long tables set up along the wall. Seventies soul and disco hits played over the loudspeakers.
Every year, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is held on the third Monday in January in honor of the late minister and activist who devoted his life to giving to others. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the federal holiday and national day of service. The motto of the event is “a day on, not a day off.”
After the volunteers arrived, they were greeted by a breakfast buffet and sorted into teams led by team leaders, each going to a different location to perform a different service. The services can range from preparing food for State College’s homeless population to painting a mural.
There is also an educational component of the event — the team leaders are tasked with facilitating discussions with their respective groups about topics related to King and his legacy.
The day of service is part of Penn State’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week, a weeklong series of events, presentations and discussions organized by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Week Student Committee.
Tia Walker, a member of the committee and the Day of Service co-director, said she hopes the volunteers are encouraged to serve more throughout their time at Penn State and learn more about King.
“(King) was all about giving back to your community, serving, helping the underserved,” Walker said. “We’re very fortunate to go to a school like Penn State, and I was always told growing up that if there’s something that you can give back, then you should give that back.”
She also said that even if the volunteers are only in State College for school, they should take what they’ve learned and apply it wherever they may go in the future.
Iris Cholula was a volunteer last year and wanted to take on more responsibility this time around. This year, she was a team leader, and her group was assigned to the Lion’s Pantry to stock shelves and check for expired items.
“Lion’s Pantry is open to all students, and checking for expired items is important for one’s health,” Cholula said. “They don’t always have enough people to put (food) out on the shelves for the students to get, so we help facilitate getting the food to more students.”
Taylor Williams is a director of community and campus outreach for the MLK Commemoration Week Student Committee. She stood behind the buffet table, rationing muffins to volunteers.
“Every day, we don’t see how people struggle or the little things they need just to make their days better,” Williams said. “So just coming together and helping even the smallest of things can make a big difference.”
She also said she hopes the volunteers would invoke the spirit of King throughout the day because of the many ways in which he served those around him.
“We can’t all change the world, but we can change our communities day by day,” Williams said.
This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 3:18 PM.