Nearly 500 volunteers are taking part in more than a dozen projects during the Jan. 16 MLK Day of Service in Flossmoor, Homewood and other area communities.
Volunteers are still needed for some projects, including the annual PADS program at Flossmoor Community Church, book collection and sorting at Homewood Public Library, painting the office spaces at Respond Now in Chicago Heights and helping restore the habitat at Dan Ryan Woods in Chicago.
Other projects have all the necessary volunteers. They include a collection at St. Joseph Church in Homewood of needed items for the South Suburban Family Shelter; blanket-making, for people in need, by students at Infant Jesus of Prague School in Flossmoor; breakfast, games and crafts, sponsored by the Flossmoor Service League, at the Jones Center in Chicago Heights; and students in Parker Junior High School’s Green Team making mats for homeless persons.
Other organizations are sponsoring collections during the Day of Service. Non-perishable food items for Respond Now are being collected at the Homewood and Flossmoor village halls. Flossmoor Baseball and Softball teams are collecting socks that will be distributed at local shelters. Lighthouse will collect feminine hygiene products to be donated to a facility in Chicago that supports homeless LGBTQ teenagers and young adults.
A full list of MLK Day of Service projects and contact information is available at www.flossmoor.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=37.
“The most exciting aspect of the event this year is the direct connections we are making between the community and the non-profit organizations,” said Laura Brennan-Levy, Flossmoor’s program and event coordinator. “We would love to see all the projects at full volunteer capacity.”
Flossmoor’s Community Relations Commission, inspired by the work and dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., initiated the local Day of Service in 2015. This is the first year that Homewood has partnered with Flossmoor on the Day of Service.