Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service celebrates the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy through service.

Observed each year on the third Monday in January as “a day on, not a day off,” MLK Day is one of only two federal holidays designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.

MLK Day United Way of the Lakeshore & AmeriCorps Seniors Events in Celebration: 

Homeless COVID-19 Care Kits: 

Currently we have over 80 families staying in hotels and motels that are COVID-19 Positive that are homeless. These families unfortunately cannot stay at their local shelters or access traditional resources. Volunteers will be packing care kits for these homeless families to make their stay easier and more enjoyable while they battle COVID.

AmeriCorps Senior (RSVP) - Care Kits for Homebound Seniors

Retired & Senior Volunteer Program Members will be packing care packages for homebound seniors in both Muskegon and Oceana counties. Volunteers will be working alongside the COVID-19 Care Kit packers at the Salvation Army.

Packing will start at 11:00 AM at the Salvation Army located at 1221 Shonat St. This will be in their gym so there will be plenty of spacing between volunteers. Masks are required to volunteer regardless of vaccination status.

3 Volunteer Shifts for MLK Day:

Shift 1 - Set Up: Volunteers will meet at United Way of the Lakeshore and help deliver items for the care packages to the Salvation Army. Meeting time will start at 8:30 AM. You must have a vehicle to help transport. After transporting materials, you will help set up tables and the room for the packing volunteers. Estimated volunteer time: 1.5 hours. 

Shift 2 - Packing: Volunteers will pack the kits for both the homeless population and homebound seniors. Packing starts at 11:00 AM. Estimated volunteer time: 1 - 1.5 hours

Shift 3 - Clean Up and Delivery: Help us deliver the care kits to their designated sites. There will be no deliveries that are to individual homes. All deliveries will be delivered to designated sites and then distributed by that agency's leadership. 

Click Here To Sign Up To Volunteer! 

Up From The Bottoms Documentary: 

As part of our MLK Day Celebrations, we will be hosting a special show of the documentary "Up From The Bottoms" at 5:00 PM at Muskegon Public High School Auditorium. We will have limited capacity because all seats will be 6 feet apart. Masks are required for this event.

Up From The Bottoms follows the personal stories of African-Americans, now in their 80's and 90's who migrated north in the 1940's to the war factories of Muskegon Michigan.

This event is sponsored in part by the Muskegon Community Foundation's 2022 National Day of Racial Healing mini grant. 

Click Here To Reserve Your Seat!