MLK Day 2010

21Jan10

The VISTA Flood Recovery program was busy celebrating Martin Luther King Day over the long weekend. In honor and remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. the day commemorating his life is celebrated with a national day of service. In Cedar Rapids we celebrated the day with two days of service both on Saturday and Monday. One of our VISTAs, Alex Lyon organized and planned the whole two-day event.
The celebration started on Saturday when volunteers and VISTAs worked at various sites around the city including Block by Block, Aid to Women and Mission of Hope. Volunteers engaged in a number of jobs at these agencies ranging from painting, to flood recovery and baking. In total over 120 volunteers served in Cedar Rapids and Johnson County over the long weekend.
On MLK Day the VISTAs attended a ceremony honoring the day at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids. A presentation was given, which included a speech from the Mount Mercy President, the local NAACP President and the new Mayor of Cedar Rapids. The mayor issued a proclamation declaring it MLK Day in Cedar Rapids. After the morning presentation it was time for the volunteers to get to work. On Monday our volunteers headed to multiple sites again. These sites included a few non-profit agencies in and around Cedar Rapids. They included, Aide to Women where volunteers donated their time to help paint the offices. We also partnered with another flood recovery agency, Block by Block for MLK Day, so some of our volunteers and VISTAs worked with them for the day. For the afternoon most of our VISTAs went over to Taylor school to spend time with the Tiger Cub Kids Club. Representative Loebsack also joined them to help the kids prepare soup, read stories, color and make crafts.
Throughout the day VISTAs and community members actively participated in the ideals Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his life for. They showed the community tolerance while donating their time, treasure and talent. Overall the weekend was a great success for both VISTA Alex and MLK Day.