Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a traditional Day of Service. On Monday, several organizations invited volunteers to celebrate King's birthday as "a day on, not off."
About 100 volunteers gathered at St. Joseph Center of Arkansas in North Little Rock for a Day of Service.
The event, hosted by the center and Full Circle Farmcorps, a program of AmeriCorps, was a chance for volunteers to work on the historic grounds of the former St. Joseph Orphanage, clearing and cleaning vegetable gardens for spring, planting a large blackberry patch, cleaning brush and burning brush piles. Another project was clearing a parcel of land, across the street from the Center, that will be used as access to a new Bus Stop Garden.
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Before volunteers grabbed their rakes, shovels and loppers, they were welcomed by the center's executive director, Sandra DeCoursey. She introduced guest speaker Dr. Arnessa Bennett, special projects director for the City of North Little Rock.
As a representative of North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick, Bennett thanked the volunteers and told them how important their work was. She concluded her remarks with a quote from King saying, "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your objects and your verbs agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love."
Also speaking were A.B. Stewart, program director for the FarmCorps, and Katie Matthews, a team leader with FarmCorps.
See more photos of those serving the community on Page 4D.