For students looking for something to do on their day off in January, the University is hosting the seventh annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Challenge on Jan. 19.
Each Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the University holds the service challenge in Bowling Green and surrounding areas and gives students and others a chance to get involved and give back to the community.
“A lot of the service activities include going to a non-profit organization and doing work there that the staff doesn’t really have the capacity to do on a normal day,” said Maddi Georgoff, a Civic Action Leader in the Office of Service Learning.
Last year there were more than 800 students who participated in the event and currently there are about 500 students signed up, said Andrew Art, Community Partner Coordinator and Scott Brummel, who is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Office of
Service Learning.
Right now, the program has 30 community partners that students will volunteer and work for. Some services students have done in the past include painting, replacing carpet, cleaning and raking leaves, among other things.
Students have also volunteered at a variety of places including nursing homes, daycare centers and parks.
“A lot of the time, the non-profits hold a lot of volunteering because usually there isn’t a lot of people working there so having that extra person power, like moving things from the basements to different floors or redoing a whole room, makes the lives of the community partner easier,” Georgoff said.
If one doesn’t want to wait until January or can’t attend the service day, there are always alternatives for those students looking to get involved.
“One Saturday a month we do what’s called Service Saturday, so we’ll do a small service event around the community or neighboring community,” Georgoff said. “We’ll take students there and get them connected with a community partner and do some services for the day.”
The deadline for the registration was originally the final day before Thanksgiving break, but has since been extended until Dec. 8, giving more students time to register.
To register or to learn more about the MLK Jr. Day of Service Challenge, visit www.bgsu.edu/service-learning/awards/mlk-jr-day.html.
