A mild snow shower blanketed Marietta鈥檚 campus on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but that didn鈥檛 stop hundreds of students, faculty, staff and community members from making their way to the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center that morning ready to work, learn and commemorate the works of the late Rev. Dr. King during the College鈥檚 second annual MLK Jr. Day of Service.
鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for Martin Luther King Jr., I obviously wouldn鈥檛 be here today,鈥 says Emileigh Mathis 鈥23, who is an African-American woman.
Rather than having traditional classes, the campus and community were invited to participate in a morning filled with service projects, student presentations and workshops geared at honoring Dr. King鈥檚 legacy. The event was coordinated by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion and the Office of Civic Engagement. Maribeth Saleem-Tanner, Director of Civic Engagement, says there were 525 participants registered for the day, including 420 students, 65 faculty and staff, and 40 community members, with an additional 10-plus community members volunteering at one of 12 off-campus service projects.
Women鈥檚 Rowing head coach Abby Klicker 鈥13, assistant coach Katy Ely and 10 rowers spent the morning at Gospel Mission Food Pantry. 鈥淲e volunteered next door at the Boys & Girls Club over fall break and so we decided to help here for MLK Day of Service,鈥 Klicker says.
Jeff Waite runs the food pantry with his wife, Candi, and says they serve between 300-500 people per week. A car accident, which seriously injured Candi last summer, threatened to close the community resource. 鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for volunteers, we would have shut down,鈥 Waite says. 鈥淭he impact would have devastated the West Side. We hear from our elderly people that without us they don鈥檛 eat. That鈥檚 why I am so grateful to the College and these great volunteers. We absolutely appreciate what the College has done for us and for our community.鈥