|
FORT WORTH, TX– The Fort Worth MLK Day of Service Committee, the CURE TEXAS NETWORK, local community leaders and businesses, ministerial staff and members will join millions of Americans across the country to volunteer in the January 19th Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Challenge in Fort Worth.
“This is a historic moment for our country and we are the generation who has been called to lead with service,” says Dr. Frank Lawson, Sr. Pastor of the Harmony Missionary Baptist Church.
In partnership with the national 2009 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, the CURE TEXAS NETWORK, Villa of Eastwood Terrace, HANP UP AT HARMONY, Johnson Controls and other businesses, this year’s activities will start on Monday, January 19, 2009 with our Volunteer Senior
They will meet at the Villa of Eastwood Terrace at 9:00 a.m. at 4700 East Berry Street in Fort Worth, Texas 76119 and then go to respective sites within the Senior community. The theme, Esteem Makeover Challenge, is an off take from the hit TV show Extreme Makeover. Our desire is to uplift the esteem of the senior community by giving them help, a warm heart and a hand up. Some participants will plant and maintain a community garden, while others will help paint homes for senior citizens, while others will engage in domestic cleaning for people with special needs.
“President-Elect Barack Obama has called us into service and we are honored by this opportunity to reach out and give the least of these in our community a hand up at Harmony,” Dr. Lawson, said.
The upcoming MLK Day of Service falls on Monday, January 19, the day before President-Elect Obama’s historic inauguration on Tuesday, January 20. “I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am President of the United States of America,” Obama said.
During his lifetime, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. worked tirelessly toward a dream of equality. He believed in a nation of freedom and justice for all, and encouraged all citizens to live up to the purpose and potential of America by applying the principles of nonviolence to make this country a better place to live, creating the Beloved Community.
The King Day of Service is a way to transform Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and teachings into community service that helps solve social problems. That service may meet a tangible need, such as fixing up a school or senior center, or it may meet a need of the spirit, such as building a sense of community or mutual responsibility. On this day, Americans of every age and background celebrate
Dr. King through service projects that:
á Strengthen Communities: Dr. King recognized the power of service to strengthen communities and achieve common goals. Through his words and example, Dr. King challenged individuals to take action and lift up their neighbors and communities through service.
á Empower Individuals: Dr. King believed each individual possessed the power to lift himself or herself up no matter what his or her circumstances – rich or poor, black or white, man or woman. Whether teaching literacy skills, helping an older adult surf the Web, or helping an individual build the skills they need to acquire a job, acts of service can help others improve
their own lives while doing so much for those who serve, as well.
á Bridge Barriers: In his fight for civil rights, Dr. King inspired Americans to think beyond themselves, look past differences, and work toward equality. Serving side by side, community service bridges barriers between people and teaches us that in the end, we are more alike than we are different.
These ideas of unity, purpose, and the great things that can happen when we work together toward a common goal – are just some of the many reasons we honor Dr. King through service on this special holiday.
For more information on this event, contact the Rev. Kyev Tatum or Sister Jean Cooks at 817-966-7625 or kyevtatum@yahoo.com.
.
|
