As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.” 

On January 18th, people all across the United States have the opportunity to take action and honor this great civil rights leader through the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday, which was designated a national day of service in 1994.

Delano Hunter, the Chief Service Officer and Executive Director of the DC Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism, said that his organization is coordinating volunteers for over eighty events all over the D.C. area for MLK Day.

“The best way to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is to give service,” said Hunter. “I think that that really epitomizes what his life was about, and the best way to pay forward his sacrifices that he made and the sacrifices of those within the civil rights movement is to embody that spirit of service.”

Here’s a look at a few ways you can get involved over the holiday.

On January 18th, The Montgomery County Volunteer Center will be offering a variety of hands-on service projects, including toiletry sorting, blanket making, food packaging, card making for the sick and a food drive from 1 to 3 p.m at Bethesda North Marriott Conference Center. More details here. Click here to register.  

The Rock Creek Conservancy has multiple events where people can help clean up Rock Creek Park over MLK weekend. According to their website, these volunteer opportunities include mulching, weeding to protect the trees from invasive species and cleaning up trash along streams. Check out how you can help your community and the environment here.

Uniting People with Opportunities, a community impact organization that helps create programs for low-income D.C. residents, will host its 3rd Annual Community Impact Day on Monday the 18th. Service opportunities, such as a coat drive, creating and distributing box lunches to the homeless, and distributing survival kits, will be available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Petey Greene Center. For more information, go here.

Help and learn from the elderly by volunteering at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington on Monday the 18th. Volunteers must be 14, but all religious denominations are welcome. According to their website, from 9 to 11:30 a.m. volunteers will be able to “assist with transport to dining rooms, one-on-one visits and sharing memories with seniors,[…]and playing cards.” To learn more, click here. Pre-registration is required and can be found here.  

To find more MLK Day service opportunities, you can search for a project to join by selecting where in D.C. and what focus area you are interested in through Serve DC here.