The third Monday in January is a distinctive national holiday. There are no elaborate meals, no fireworks, no picnics. Instead, we’re given the opportunity to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by rolling up our sleeves and participating in what has become a national day of service. As Dr. King famously observed: “Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.”
It was for this reason that UJA-Federation launched its groundbreaking volunteer platform, Time for Good, on MLK Day last year, bringing together more than 2,000 people at dozens of service projects. I’m proud to report that throughout 2017, Time for Good attracted 15,000 volunteers to perform 167,000 hours of service across the community.
On MLK Day this Monday, January 15th, Time for Good is spearheading 42 volunteer projects in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Long Island, and Westchester. From visiting isolated Holocaust survivors, to running a carnival for homeless children, to creating comfort kits for hospice patients, there are many, many opportunities for lifting people up and doing good together.
As of this morning, 2,266 volunteers have signed up for Monday’s Time for Good MLK Day of Service. If you’ve not already done so, I encourage you to join us — and bring your family and friends.
Earlier this week UJA’s diverse staff gathered, as we do every year, to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy. We were privileged to be joined by Reverend Dr. Jesse T. Williams, Jr., who serves as senior pastor of the Convent Avenue Baptist Church of Harlem, and who reminded us that Dr. King was only 39 when he was tragically assassinated. Dr. King’s accomplishments remind us that one person — any one of us — can have a profound, enduring impact. It starts very simply — with service.
Our collective mandate is to continue Dr. King’s work — always striving to get closer to a world where all people have the same opportunities; where all people are valued; where all people are truly treated b’tzelem Elokim, as created in the image of God.
That’s the world Dr. King envisioned. And that’s the world we aspire to every day.
Shabbat shalom