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Hundreds of volunteers gathered across the Bay Area on Monday to realize a vision for this nation once laid out by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the late Baptist minister and civil rights activist.
In Palo Alto, volunteers at the Oshman Family JCC Taube Koret Campus for Jewish Life made burritos and no-sew blankets and decorated pillow cases to distribute to unsheltered residents being served by the nonprofit Life Moves.
Lynnelle Bilsey, a senior manager for volunteer programs at Life Moves, said the day’s activities reflected an alignment between King’s vision and her organization’s values.
“I think Dr. King’s vision is really treating people with equality, fairness and justice and that’s our goal working with the homeless population. Our goal is to treat people with dignity and support and to believe in positivity so when we’re doing these kinds of projects it’s a perfect opportunity to help us,” Bilsey said.
The breakfast burritos will be delivered to the Opportunity Services drop-in center, which serves approximately 75 to 80 unhoused Palo Alto residents daily; the blankets and pillows are for the roughly 12 families and 88 individuals receiving help through the organization’s 124-bed Mountain View shelter.
“During the pandemic when we can’t do in-person volunteering as easily because of the conditions, this is a way for the community to have a presence in the shelters. It really helps when the community can still feel like they’re contributing to people in need,” Bilsey added. “The energy from the volunteers — I think they’re just excited to be able to make a difference, and that to me is what Martin Luther King’s National Day of Service is all about: How can you make a difference in your community.”
Groups at the JCC also created zero-waste bird feeders, bee feeders and bee bomb pollinators; filled library boxes with essential products for the unhoused; packed snack bags for health care workers; and planted seedlings and decorated clay pots for adults with special needs.
In Richmond, more than 60 volunteers packed an estimated 10,000 meal bags and boxes containing soy, rice, vegetables and other nutritional supplements at Bay Hills Church. Worshipers participating in the day of service for the first time partnered with Rise Against Hunger, which stores and distributes the food globally to schoolchildren and hungry people receiving emergency relief. Each box can feed one child for up to one year, while each bag can provide six meals.
Tammy Hardin, a volunteer from Pinole, took inspiration from King.
“He was a giver among all things, and so I just wanted to give back and this was a perfect opportunity because this is my church so that was an easy choice,” said Hardin, adding that she brought her father and daughter with her for her first year volunteering on the federal holiday.
Kevin Mahaffy, the pastor at Bay Hills, invoked this excerpt from King Jr.’s 1968 Drum Major Instinct sermon: Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.
“That’s kind of the heart behind it — we want to come together as a church and invite the broader community to be part of loving and serving our neighbors,” Mahaffy said, adding that he hopes the event becomes an annual tradition.
Source: www.mercurynews.com