Join Us for the National Day of Service

Like many parents of young children, we’ve been wrestling with how best to discuss the work of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement with our children. We want them to know about the individuals who sacrificed to improve our country and our world. However, explaining that time to them introduces many troubling topics about which they are currently unaware since, on many levels, they live in a world that was only a dream in 1963.

The only presidential election they have seen featured a woman and an African-American as two of the candidates. They don’t think there is anything unusual about tomorrow’s inauguration of Barack Obama, or his name. Their classmates and teachers come from all over the world. Their criteria for friendship is whether a kid is fun, smart, and has a good imagination rather than whether he or she looks like them.

We’ve decided to concentrate for now on Dr. King’s message of working together to make the world a better place. The National Day of Service is tailor-made for this. Since 1994, when Congress charged the Corporation for National and Community Service with creating a national day of service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Americans have participated in special volunteer activities on this day. With President-Elect Obama asking people to join him in volunteering, both today and throughout the year, nonprofit organizations have geared up to match new volunteers with projects.

After talking with the girls, we decided to provide requested supplies to our local animal shelter and to clean up trash in one our favorite parks. Both are small actions but, as with many of the topics on this site, the cumulative effect of many small actions can be transformative.

If you are interested in becoming involved, visit USAService to find or promote service opportunities in your area.

I can’t think of a better 80th birthday present to Dr. King or a better way to begin a conversation about his life.

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