Monday, January 19, 2009

Happy birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!

(photo from Web)

Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most impressive persons of the last century. I always loved learning about him and the peaceful equality and justice he sought, as we watched films and celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, growing up in Chicago. Though there was terrible prejudice in our town, there was also an educational equality - our school, led by a black woman in the 1970's, chartered a path for blacks and whites (and Indians, Koreans, Hispanics, and others) to live together, learn together, and go beyond skin color to real heart-based friendship. It was a special time to live in the outskirts of Chicago, and I will never forget the lessons learned.

(photo from Web)

To celebrate the holiday, President-elect Barack Obama issued a national "call to arms," asking for us ordinary folks to offer acts of service in our communities. You can find a local event at usaservice.org.

Mom and I thoroughly enjoyed helping box food for low-income seniors, with the Community Supplemental Food Program in Concord on Friday. With about ten other volunteers, we bustled around a chilly warehouse making packages of 2 beans, 2 corn, 2 cereal, 1 dry milk, 1 macaroni...you get the idea. Those 135 boxes that we assembled in two hours will be delivered to local individuals and couples who need extra food to survive the winter. We got good exercise, made new friends, and it felt very good to help out.

Then today, I dropped off a bag of dry foods to Plus Time NH in Concord, which will donate the items to NH's Food Bank. This collection goes on all month, as do several of the events. So if you missed the chance this weekend, check Obama's link above for more events in which you can contribute.

It's wonderful to have a President that will keep us individually accountable for the health of our nation. It's wonderful to have a President who cares about the poor again. We're all in this together!

Happy MLK Day!

~Ally

(photo by Scott Snyder)

1 comment:

Marie Rayner said...

Can you imagine how he would feel to know how far America has come since his day??? Wow, amazing thought! It still has a ways to go of course, but it's still pretty amazing to see how far it's come!