Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” Celebrating the national holiday and honoring King, athletic teams and over ten clubs came together to serve our community in the third week of January.

Among the clubs that initiated activities to honor King’s legacy, many focused on helping a specific group outside of Kent. My Soldier Club made cards for soldiers serving overseas, while Operation Smile made cards for children getting cleft palate surgery. Amnesty International wrote letters to campaign for CIW farm workers. In a similar effort to serve the public, SAGE petitioned to end child marriage in Jordan.

Other clubs sought to help the Kent community itself by volunteering in various establishments near Kent. REACH helped out at the Kent School Learning Center for the entire MLK Week of Service, while The Animal Rights Club volunteered at an animal shelter at St. Francis. The Baking Club, the Tea Club, and the Mission Committee lent a helping hand to the homeless, baking cookies and making lunch bags. Some students even individually volunteered at the Kent Memorial Library in town.

Two clubs specifically set their goals to spread more knowledge about King as part of their Week of Service mission. Kent TV made an interesting video featuring students’ and teachers’ opinions on King and their efforts to recite parts of his famous “I have a dream” his speech. Also, after Selma, a film based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, was released, the Diversity and Culture Club sponsored a trip to Danbury to watch film.

Ms. Megan Sokolnicki, the REACH faculty advisor who initiated this project, says, “it was great to have so many clubs involved because there were so many different types of service activities going on.” According to Ms. Sokolnicki, Kent effectively utilized a full week to serve our neighbors with activities “from letter writing campaigns to hand-on service both on campus and off.”

Participating in this project were not only clubs, but also athletic teams. Kent boys and girls basketball teams volunteered to play basketball with local second and third graders. In the following days, girls swimming and boys hockey made weekend care packages for children in need.

With the success of this year’s MLK Week, Mrs. Sokolnicki looks forward to another week of service next year, filled with even more outreach and joy.