“Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Many of us think of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a day off, but we should be thinking about it as a day on.
This year's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is January 17, 2022. Observed each year on the third Monday in January, MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service, encouraging Americans young and old to volunteer to improve their communities.
AmeriCorps has lead this effort for the last quarter-century. The organization encourages everyone to share and celebrate their service projects and accomplishments in Dr. King's memory.
You may think that your kids are too young to honor Martin Luther King Jr. No way! Anyone can volunteer, and any kind of service honors Dr. King's life and legacy. You can choose one of the following ideas or come up with your own. Ask your kids for suggestions, too... you may be surprised by what they come up with! Even during COVID times, there are service projects you and your family can do that help others, while also allowing you to follow COVID guidelines.
Here are some events near Cherry Hill
SANDWICH DONATION TO CATHEDRAL KITCHEN
Friday, January 14, 2022 | 10AM - 2PM | Cathedral Kitchen, Camden NJ
Make 50 -250 meat and cheese sandwiches! Complete this service project in the comfort of your own home by working on sanitized surfaces and wearing gloves, if possible. Invite your mom friends over with their kids make 50-250 turkey or beef bologna and cheese sandwiches to be included in the Cathedral Kitchen's dinner guest’s take-away bags.
Please do not include any dressings (mustard, mayo, tomato, etc.) on the bread. Any type of bread is fine (wheat is even better if you can get it).
No need to slice in half. Please place each sandwich in a sealed baggie and label the final contribution with the type of meat sandwiches being donated.
Contactless Donation Drop-Off
The calendar date you select is your scheduled contactless donation drop-off to our loading dock behind our building; where the time is when donations can be dropped-off. If our front gate is closed, please drive around back to our loading dock at 1514 Federal Street.
Please do not come on the loading dock or into our building. Follow the signs to ring the doorbell to let our staff know that your donation is on the dock; a CK staff member will come out to collect the donation and assist you with unloading, if needed.
REGISTER HERE
CHERRY HILL TRAIL WORK
Saturday, January 15, 2022 | 9AM - 12PM | Croft Farm, Cherry Hill
Cherry Hill Township invites community members to "Help Us, Help Others" by volunteering their time at Cherry Hill's MLK Day of Service trail event on Saturday, January 15, 2022.
Weather-permitting. This project will include trail erosion control, improvements, trash pick-up and much more and will be assigned at the event!
If you have a large group and are interested in volunteering, please email Events@CHNJ.gov for a specific outdoor activity.
All volunteers must register in advance and complete an online waiver. Volunteers 14 and under must be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Volunteers are should dress appropriately for outdoor work and bring their own work gloves and water.
Please note, we are limited to 50 volunteers and this event will fill up quickly.
REGISTER HERE
PRE-SCHOOL FLASH CARD LITERACY MAKING
Monday, January 17 | ALL DAY | Your House
The Kiwanis Club of the Haddons is looking to have volunteers create alphabet flash card decks, about 5x7 inch cards, as part of the Love Letters for Literacy Project. All letters must be in upper case block font. Each set of cards will be distributed by Prevent Child Abuse NJ.
There will be various drop off locations around Camden County for collected items for the Kiwanis Club of the Haddons. These include:
- Barrington Municipal Building, 229 Trenton Ave, Barrington, NJ
- Bellmawr Municipal Building, 21 E Browning Rd, Bellmawr, NJ
- Haddonfield Public Library, 60 North Haddon Avenue (Library point), Haddonfield, NJ
- 400 Kingston Drive, Cherry Hill, NJ
REGISTER HERE
RECORD A BOOK READING
Monday, January 17, 2022 | ALL DAY | Your House
Film yourself reading aloud your favorite children’s book, which will be uploaded to the Kiwanis club YouTube channel. Children’s Specialized Hospital is looking forward to viewing the recordings.
Please email the Kiwanis club for instructions
COMMUNITY CARE PACKAGES
Monday, January 17, 2022 | 11AM - 1PM | Community House, Mount Laurel, NJ!
COMMUNITY SJP partners with the Cherry Hill Free Clinic to assemble hygiene kits on Monday, January 17 from 11:00am-1:00pm at the Community House in Mount Laurel, NJ! We will also stuff socks with snack items to be distributed to local homeless shelters. New sock donations are welcome!
This event is FREE to attend, but registration is REQUIRED! We can accommodate limited volunteers per shift at this event. If you register and can no longer attend, please let us know so we can free up the slot for someone else.
All guests must be fully vaccinated. This event will be indoors and masks will be required. A COVID prescreening questionnaire will be sent to you a few days prior to the event.
To make a monetary donation towards COMMUNITY Comfort, please visit PayPal or Venmo.
REGISTER HERE
COMMUNITY COMFORT
Saturday, January 22, 2022 | 11AM - 1PM | Virtua Health & Wellness Center, Moorestown NJ
CommUNITY SJP in making no-sew fleece blankets and stuffing socks with snacks for local homeless shelters. New sock donations are welcome!
This project engages individuals and families in a fun, hands on activity which involves little to no skill. Adults and children (ages 9+) can collectively combat blanket shortages at this event. Children ages 12+ can prepare a blanket on their own with minimal guidance. Children ages 9-11 can prepare a blanket with help from an adult. Although this is a great way to engage children to give back to the community, we will need an adequate number of adults to assist our youth volunteers. Each blanket will take 1 hour to assemble in full. A $12 donation covers the expense of 1 blanket.
**Blankets will be purchased in bulk by COMMUNITY SJP
Recipients of these blankets include domestic abuse shelters, homeless shelters, hospitals, and more.
This event is FREE to attend, but registration is REQUIRED! We can accommodate limited volunteers per shift at this event. If you register and can no longer attend, please let us know so we can free up the slot for someone else.
All guests must be fully vaccinated. This event will be indoors and masks will be required. A COVID prescreening questionnaire will be sent to you a few days prior to the event.
To make a monetary donation towards COMMUNITY Comfort, please visit PayPal or Venmo.
REGISTER HERE
Do you have a service project you'd like to add to our list? Send it over!
➡️ You can find additional service opportunities by zip code here. Already know what you plan to do? Register your project!
About Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. is of the most influential civil rights leaders in history, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize at age 35 in 1964. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the bill that created the federal holiday.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He served for many years as a pastor, during which time he worked tirelessly for the equality of all people as a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and a leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Over the years, he joined with many other civil rights activists to lead non-violent protests across the country.
In August of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. helped to organize the famous March on Washington. More than 250,000 people joined together to show their support of equal rights for everyone — including advocating for an end to segregation in public schools, protection from police abuse, and to create laws preventing discrimination in employment. He delivered his most famous speech, “I have a dream" during that event, which included this famous line:
“I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. Although his life was cut short, the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. continues.
