A day of service
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?”‘ Many citizens in our community responded to that question on Saturday by volunteering their time to serve our community during the third annual MLK Day of Service, coordinated by the United Way Community Volunteer Center and hosted in part by Dream 365.
On behalf of the United Way Community Volunteer Center, we extend a heartfelt thank you to all volunteers and sponsors for this community-wide event held in conjunction with the National MLK Day of Service.
We were able to complete numerous service projects, ranging from debris pickup in the vicinity of Sim Scott and Sandfield parks, helping with needs at Palmer Home and Salvation Army Thrift Stores, to an interior face-lift at the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus. Volunteers also hung fire safety awareness fliers for American Red Cross, provided a deep cleaning at the Loaves and Fishes Community Soup Kitchen and assisted several other local non-profit agencies with some project needs.
A special thank you goes to the Mayor’s Youth Council for their flexibility and spirit of helpfulness. They sprang into action as emergency fill-ins in two areas where needed, as well as collecting debris at Sandfield.
We thank the breakfast kickoff sponsors who donated biscuits for the volunteer breakfast: Hardees of Highway 45 North and East Columbus, McDonalds Highway 45 North and Bojangles. Donors for supplies were Lowes, The Paint Store, and Walmart.
We are so appreciative of all of the groups, individuals and businesses who made this third annual Community Day of Service so successful. If your nonprofit is in need of volunteers, or if you are looking to volunteer in the community, the United Way Community Volunteer Center can assist you. For more information, visit unitedwaylowndescounty.org, call 662-328-0943 or email [email protected].
Leslie Peel
The writer is United Way Community Volunteer Center Coordinator for Columbus.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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