Baylor University to Commemorate MLK Day with Community-wide Day of Service, Multiple Events

January 15, 2016

Media Contact: Lori Fogleman, 254-710-6275

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WACO, Texas (Jan. 15, 2016) - Baylor University will commemorate the life and legacy of Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in the national MLK Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 18, 2016, and joining together at numerous events throughout the Waco and university communities.

“The value placed on service is something that matters to every human being, and it’s important that we understand when we help others, we are helping better the community. The MLK Day of Service enriches the lives of everyone – those who give and those who receive, and it allows us to get back to the bare necessities of being a good person and serving the common good,” said Kelley C. Kimple, Ed.D., associate director of multicultural affairs at Baylor. “It’s also a time to come together to reflect on and acknowledge Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a man whose life and legacy inspired service and coming together as one community not only in the United States but throughout the world.”

Community events to commemorate Dr. King began Friday, Jan. 15, with the annual Wreath Laying Ceremony at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 100 N. MLK Blvd. along the Brazos River in Waco. The keynote speaker was The Rev. Anthony Burrus, with Baylor President and Chancellor Ken Starr among the community leaders who participated in the wreath laying honoring Dr. King.

On Monday, Jan. 18, thousands of organizations across the across the country will lead Americans in MLK Day of Service, the nation’s largest day of civic engagement.

With an emphasis on creating opportunity for all, citizens in all 50 states will deliver meals, refurbish schools and community centers, and collect food and clothing. Volunteers will also recruit mentors, build homes and provide other services for veterans and military families, and help citizens improve their financial literacy skills.

MLK Day of Service with Baylor Campus Kitchens, Waco urban gardens

In Waco, hundreds of Baylor students with the university’s Campus Kitchens Project will work over the MLK holiday weekend to prepare, assemble and deliver hundreds of box lunches to volunteers with the Heart of Texas Urban Gardening Coalition on Monday, Jan. 18, which is MLK Day of Service. In addition, Baylor students will volunteer alongside others in the community at eight community gardens, World Hunger Relief Farm and a Brazos River clean-up with Keep Waco Beautiful.

Lunch prep led by Baylor Campus Kitchens will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 16-17, at Penland Crossroads dining hall, 1120 S. Fifth St. on the Baylor campus.

The Campus Kitchens Project at Baylor is one of 49 university-based Campus Kitchens in the United States and the first Campus Kitchen at a Texas university. The anti-hunger program allows Baylor students to recover quality unused food from university dining halls, turn these donations into nourishing meals and deliver them to the Family Abuse Center of Waco and Mission Waco. In addition, Campus Kitchens volunteers recover already cooked but unserved food from Baylor dining halls and deliver it daily to the Salvation Army in Waco. Campus Kitchens gives students an opportunity to keep food from going to waste, while allowing them to develop leadership skills, serve others and open pathways between the university and the community.

Baylor’s Campus Kitchen celebrated its grand opening on MLK Day of Service on Jan. 19, 2009. This past fall, Baylor student volunteers:

    • Recovered and donated 5,592 pounds of food from university dining halls
    • Served 5,734 meals to local nonprofit organizations that serve community members
    • Provided 2,548 hours of volunteers service from more than 300 volunteers

“Dr. King’s life is a shining example that one person can make a difference and change the course of history,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). “By volunteering in communities across the nation on the MLK Day of Service, we honor his legacy through the spirit of service. I am honored to serve alongside the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are dedicating a day to give back, and I am convinced that the day will inspire many to make volunteering part of their lives all year long.”

In 1994, Congress designated MLK Day as the first and only federal holiday observed as a national day of service, and charged CNCS with leading this effort. Participants in the agency's AmeriCorps and Senior Corps programs are leading and participating in projects across the country.

On Monday, Jan. 18, volunteers will work 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, at eight H.O.T. Urban Garden Coalition sites and the World Hunger Relief Farm. Lunch from Baylor Campus Kitchens will be delivered to each site, which will host a lunchtime discussion and art project about MLK Day and service to the community.

At the Baylor Community Garden site, located at 1705 S. 9th Street in Waco, volunteers on MLK Day of Service will prep garden beds, harvest vegetables and plant spinach, potatoes and more. In 2015, the Baylor Community Garden served 761 pounds of fresh produce, at least 70 percent of which was used by the Baylor Campus Kitchens Project in preparation of meals that will be distributed through community nonprofits.

The Baylor Community Garden also provides a unique opportunity for a partnership between the academic and service sectors of the university and the community. It enhances the classroom experience of Baylor students, serves as a demonstration and teaching site for schools and urban gardeners, encourages healthy lifestyles and strengthens bridges to the community in a fresh, healthy and useful environment.

Other H.O.T. Urban Garden Coalition sites include:

    St. Luke's AME Church
    117 E. Church St.
    Waco, Texas 76704
    World Hunger Relief Inc.
    356 Spring Lake Road
    Waco, Texas 76705
    Provident Heights Elementary
    2415 Bosque Blvd.
    Waco, Texas 76707
    Hewitt First United Methodist Church
    600 S 1st St.
    Hewitt, Texas 76643
    J.H. Hines Elementary School
    301 Garrison St.
    Waco, Texas 76704
    Bell’s Hill Elementary School
    2100 Ross Ave.
    Waco, Texas 76706
    Calvary Community Garden
    1001 N 18th A St.
    Waco, Texas 76707
    Indian Spring Middle School
    500 N University Parks Drive
    Waco, Texas 76701

Keep Waco Beautiful will lead a cleanup of a portion of the Brazos River from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with registration beginning at 10:30 a.m. at both locations, Monday, Jan. 18.

    Farmer’s Market Parking lot
    400 S University Parks Drive
    Waco, Texas 76706
    Bledsoe Miller Park
    300 N Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
    Waco, Texas 76704

Also happening on Monday, Jan. 18, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. and Waco NAACP will hold the community’s annual March and Wreath Laying from 9 a.m. to noon at the Waco Suspension Bridge, while Mission Waco will hold a free lunch discussion at noon at the Jubilee Theatre, 1315 N. 15th St. in Waco. For additional information, call 254-753-4900.

The annual MLK Candlelight Vigil will be held at 6 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 100 N. MLK Blvd. The keynote speaker is The Rev. E. Shaun Williams. President Starr will be among the community leaders who will bring remarks. Attendees are encouraged to bring candles. For additional information, call Coque Gibson at 254-722-1274.

On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Baylor University’s Department of Multicultural Affairs will host the university’s annual MLK Celebration Luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. in room 250 of the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. Tickets are $20, and seating is limited. For additional information, call Multicultural Affairs at 254-710-6948.

At 6 p.m., the Coalition of Black Ambassadors in conjunction with the Department of Multicultural Affairs will host the MLK Dinner Reception, also in room 250 of the Foster Campus. The event’s guest speaker is Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum Jr., a graduate of Mexia High School and SMU. For additional information, call Multicultural Affairs at 254-710-6948.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.