University of Alabama at Birmingham and Lawson State Community College students, faculty and staff have the opportunity to give back to the Greater Birmingham community on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 16. Orchestrated by the UAB Leadership and Service Council, a student-led campus organization, interested participants are able to spend the national holiday volunteering at various locations around Birmingham.
MLK Day of Service is an annual event that honors King’s memory through community outreach efforts. David Dada, UAB’s Leadership and Service Council adviser, says this year’s work involves mostly outdoor clean-up and landscaping. Dada is expecting 300-400 students to participate.
“The volunteer sites are at Legion Field, at Red Mountain Park and within the Docena community,” Dada said.
Participants will meet for registration at 10 a.m. at the UAB Campus Recreation Center in the center court. Each student will be assigned a location upon registration based on a first-come, first-served basis. Free lunch will be offered to all volunteers at 11 a.m. At noon, volunteers will travel to their service locations and work until 4 p.m.
The MLK Day of Service has been a successful day of volunteering for UAB’s students, faculty and staff in previous years. In the past, the Leadership and Service Council has partnered with Hands On Birmingham, The Salvation Army, King’s Home and other local communities.
The Leadership and Service Council at UAB is a student-led organization that coordinates biannual community outreach days and monthly service projects, conducts ongoing volunteer activities, and houses the Social Change and the Civic Engagement committees. In addition to the MLK Day of Service, the council is also responsible for major service projects such as September Service Madness.