On Saturday, January 19, 2019, CCANO Workforce Development AmeriCorps members participated in the Martin Luther King Day of Service event held at the Global Green Community Center in New Orleans.
Started in 1994, the MLK Day of Service occurs every year on the third Monday in January and is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service. In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, the annual event inspires individuals, builds bridges, and aims to create solutions to social problems in communities.
The City of New Orleans and the MLK Holiday Planning Commission sponsored the day with support from the Omicron Lambda Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Team Happy Foundation, and the Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development. Originally planned as a community-led trash cleanup, invasive plant removal, driveway framing, and deck staining, planners rolled with the punches when inclement weather rolled in. After the Commission decided to change the activity and location, CCANO participants prepared bags of fresh food for the New Orleans Homeless Shelter.
CCANO Americorps members, CCANO Americorps volunteers, and CCANO’s Workforce Development Director, Janner Wilson, participated in the event. Over 50 volunteers from judges, public defenders, former teachers, Americorps Vistas, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters, community activists, and children all worked together tirelessly, showing the strength of character and spirit of the people of Louisiana in the face of adversity.
