Martin Luther King Jr. Day Of Service
Make it a day on, not a day off
Jennifer Rubino
Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: Campus Life
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The day began in the University Center atrium with a pledge of nonviolence and information about the on and off campus volunteer opportunities. A dedication to Dr. King was given at the Martin Luther King Jr. Garden followed by a march in memoriam of Dr. King's historic civil right marches. Also, a presentation was given by Dr. Therman E. Evans in the University Center Little Theatre about the principles of promise and how people were born to make a difference.
During the morning and afternoon hours, a shuttle departed from the Vaughn-Eames parking lot with the New Jersey Community Food Bank as its destination. Food was organized and distributed to the hungry. Another shuttle provided transportation to the Coalition for the Homeless, an organization dedicated to helping the homeless by providing food and housing to those in need.
Aside from the off-campus service opportunities, Kean hosted several on-campus events. The Hearts of Hope Project took place from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. where students painted ceramic hearts to be distributed to individuals in the Healing Hearts and Hearts of Heroes programs. The first program's members are suffering from cancer and the members of the second group are soldiers. The Hearts of Hope Project's motto is "Making a difference….one heart at a time." Freshman communications major, Stephanie Scarano, who was running the event, said "I think a lot of students will come out and show their support as a random act of kindness."
Students exercised their creativity and writing skills as they painted hearts and composed messages of hope. "I am here to support our soldiers and those in need. It is a small way to support our soldiers," said sophomore speech and language disorder major, Kimberly Crespo. Some students used this opportunity to fulfill a dream of their own. "I decided to paint this heart for patients with breast cancer because this is the first step I can take to help people," said freshman biology major Diana Escandon. "I want to be a microbiologist and my dream is to work hard to find a cure, or prevention for cancer."
Also taking place on-campus were blood donations, where the gift of life was proudly given. During the afternoon, the Kean Child Care Center hosted a multicultural reading for children, where volunteers could sign up and read a story to them. This concluded the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, but Kean University has many more of them to look forward to in the future.
