Martin Luther King Jr. Day — the federal holiday honoring the influential civil rights leader — is for many a day off from work and school. But it’s not a vacation; instead, it’s an opportunity for service, to give something back to your community and to help make the world a better place in whatever way you can.
The following area organizations are hosting events to help people fulfill the spirit of the occasion.
Serve the Spirit
The Arts Council of Princeton (ACP) honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an art-making workshop, food drive, and community gathering, free and open to all ages. The event takes place Monday, January 20, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Artist Tamara Torres leads participants to explore color’s varying effects on emotions and to discuss ways to express feelings through abstract art. Participants spend 10 minutes to create freely on a sheet of paper, allowing themselves to express their feelings without the constraints of perfection, rules, or judgment.
Afterward, they’ll be challenged to tear up their paper and use the pieces to create a new collage that represents a different perspective, transforming it into something new. This exercise encourages conversations about changing perspectives and looking at things in a fresh way.
Community partner activities will be provided by the Historical Society of Princeton (HSP) and the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society. In addition, pages from the coloring book ACP created in partnership with HSP and local historian Shirley Satterfield will be available for children to color, read through the short stories, and learn a little more about how Princeton came to be the place it is today.
These pages detail MLK’s visit to Princeton University in 1960 and celebrate Black Princetonians and their businesses, stories, and invaluable contributions to this town. Light snacks will be served.
Attendees are encouraged to bring with them canned goods to fill ACP’s accessible Food Pantry coordinated in partnership with Send Hunger Packing Princeton. Shelf-stable goods will be accepted during ACP business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street, Princeton. artscouncilofprinceton.org or 609-924-8777.
The Princeton Clergy Association and the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action are co-sponsoring the annual Multifaith Service in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King on Monday, January 20, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
The service is held at First Baptist Church, 119 John Street at the intersection with Paul Robeson Place. There is no parking lot at the church, and on street parking is limited. It is recommended that those driving to attend the Service park in the YWCA/YMCA parking lot off Paul Robeson Place on the side closest to the church.
The preacher will be the Rev. Vernon Walker, currently the director of content and external strategy at The Progress and Poverty Institute in Princeton. He previously spent many years organizing for climate and social justice causes. He was born and raised in Philadelphia. His sermon title is “The Fight for Social Justice is More Robust When We Work Together in Unison.”
Rev. Walker is currently an associate minister at the Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Philadelphia. He was ordained in 2015 and formerly served as an associate pastor at the Berachah Church located in Boston.
Rev. Walker’s social justice message has appeared in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Bay State Banner, Commonwealth Magazine, and other media. He has also made TV appearances on Fox 25, New England Cable News, Boston Neighborhood Network, CBS Boston, and NBC 10 Boston. He has lectured about his social justice work at universities and colleges across the United States.
Diverse faith leaders co-lead the liturgy, and a Community Multifaith Choir also performs. Those wanting to participate in the Choir should visit peacecoalition.org for details. All are encouraged to sign up, whatever your level of experience.
During the service, a freewill offering will be received, which will be split equally between the Poor People’s Campaign, which was the last campaign Dr. King initiated before his assassination; and the Peace Action Education Fund of the Princeton-based Coalition for Peace Action.
Those unable to attend the service in person are welcome to visit www.facebook.com/1stbcpnj to view it online. Online attendees are encouraged to make a tax-deductible donation to the offering at peacecoalitionedfund.org/donate-paef.html
The service is free and open to the public. For further information, visit www.peacecoalition.org or call 609-924-5022.
Serve the Less Fortunate
Lawrence-based nonprofit HomeFront encourages people to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King from their home or workplace by helping families impacted by poverty and homelessness in the community.
“Everyone Counts” Service Opportunity. Purchase items such as individual-sized toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, and soaps; toothbrushes and socks; etc., and make small kits in ziploc bags to distribute during NJ’s Annual Point in Time count, which helps ensure that every person experiencing homelessness counts. This important national event helps shape policy decisions and takes place on Wednesday, January 29.
Make a House a Home: Host a Drive for Moving Supplies. Help provide HomeFront’s clients with much needed items for moving to their new, and in many cases, first homes. Constant needs include new and gently used comforter sets with sheets (twin, full, queen), towel sets, shower curtains with liners and rings, pots and pans sets, utensil and dish sets, Swiffer wet dry mops, mops and buckets, and brooms with dust pans. Also of use are unopened cleaning supplies: dish soap, sponges, microfiber towels, all-purpose cleaner, toilet bowl brush and cleaner, cleaning gloves, and paper towels. Donations are convenient to purchase from HomeFront’s Amazon Wishlist.
Items can be dropped off at the Donation Center at 1880 Princeton Avenue in Lawrenceville from Tuesday, January 21, through Friday, January 24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Saturday, January 25, 9 a.m. to noon. Contact getinvolved@homefrontnj.org or 609-989-9417 x112 for questions.
West Windsor Arts is hosting its seventh annual MLK Day of Service featuring service projects and donations supporting local organizations. While volunteer activities are fully subscribed, donations are still needed as follows:
The center seeks the following donations for these organizations:
Rise Community Services, for youth ages 3 – 12: new pajamas; toothbrush, toothpaste; gently used or new books.
Children’s Home Society, for moms and infants: handmade crocheted or knitted hats; handmade crocheted or knitted baby blankets.
Trenton Area Soup Kitchen: feminine hygiene products; napkins; elastic bands; plastic utensils.
PEI Kids, for young men and women aged 12 – 17, new: shampoo; conditioner; deodorant; lotion; face wash; towels; acne treatments; nail clippers and files.
Younity (formerly Womanspace) for older children and adults: activity books (like brain games, crosswords, soduku, etc.); puzzles; books; sketchbooks; journals; writing utensils; stickers.
MillHill Child Development Center, for young children: diapers (size 2T and up); wipes; socks (toddlers – age 11); naptime blankets (all genders, ages 3 – 5); pajama sets (all genders, ages 3 – 10); underwear (all genders, ages 3 – 10).
Letters Against Isolation, for seniors in New Jersey: handwritten notes (find inspiration here).
For packaging the items (all projects): gift bags; big clear recycling bags; gallon ziploc bags; brown paper lunch bags.
Donations can be dropped off at West Windsor Arts, 952 Alexander Road, West Windsor on Wednesday through Friday, January 15 through 17, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, January 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Monday, January 20, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More information: www.westwindsorarts.org.
The Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County and Mercer County 4-H are collecting donated items for an MLK Day Yard Sale. All proceeds will benefit the Mercer Street Friends food bank.
Donations will be collected through Friday, January 17, at the 4-H Office, 1440 Parkside Avenue, Ewing. Any items can be donated except for the following: Old electronics like fax machines, computers, etc.; heavy hardcover books such as encyclopedias and textbooks; and large, heavy furniture.
The sale runs in the gymnasium at 1440 Parkside Avenue from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, January 20.
Serve the Environment
Join Friends of Princeton Nursery Lands and Kingston Greenways Association in the Mapleton Preserve, 145 Mapleton Road in Kingston, for a winter afternoon outdoors on Monday, January 20, from noon to 3 p.m. Volunteers will remove invasive vines from trees and pick up litter. Bring saws, clippers, loppers, and rakes if you can. Work gloves, sturdy shoes, warm clothing, and hats are a must. Call 609-683-0483 for more information. www.kingstongreenways.org.
Join Friends of Princeton Open Space for a Day of Service. Sessions will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3 p.m. During each session, volunteers will work with FOPOS’s stewardship team to battle invasive plant outbreaks at the Mountain Lakes Nature Preserve in Princeton. Volunteers will also work to free large established trees from the grip of invasive vines. Participants will gain skills in plant identification and learn about some of the pressures New Jersey’s forests face.
Bring a water bottle and work gloves, as well as tools like pruners, loppers, and hand saws, if you have them. Wear long sleeves, long pants, and work boots/sneakers for best protection from the cold, thorns, ticks, mud, and poison ivy.
Meet at the Mountain Lakes House Parking lot, 57 Mountain Ave, Princeton.
Register for a session at www.fopos.org.
