| JOPLIN - About 150 students, faculty and staff members at Missouri Southern State University will volunteer at 13 service organizations in the Joplin area during a Day of Service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event will take place on Monday, Jan. 18, 2010 and provide opportunities for students to reflect upon, honor and celebrate the life and legacy of the noted civil rights leader.
The Missouri Campus Compact, a group established to strengthen civic engagement and service-learning partnerships in colleges and universities, has challenged higher education to provide 1,000 volunteers for the project throughout the state who will work from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Although the group will cover many expenses, funding still is needed for uniform shirts and increased marketing efforts.
Participants will wear royal blue shirts with white lettering on the front reading "VOLUNTEER - MLK Day of Service 2010." A list of the event's sponsors will be printed in white on the back with the names and placement determined by the size of the contributions. Sponsorships are available at $2,000, $1,000, $500, $250, and $100 levels.
"This is an opportunity to help service organizations with large projects while instilling a passion for civic service in the lives of the students at Missouri Southern," says Tara Clark, coordinator of the Service Learning Program and the event's organizer. "Sometimes all a person needs is one great experience in community service to spark a lifetime of civic responsibility."
The day's events at Missouri Southern will begin with the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Breakfast at 7 a.m. in the ballroom of the newly remodeled Billingsly Student Center (BSC). Dr. Al Cade, head of the teacher education department at Missouri Southern, will be the honorary speaker. The community is welcome.
Tickets for the breakfast can be bought during normal business hours before January 11 for $6 each. Purchase them at the MSSU Bookstore in BSC or at the University Java coffee shop on the first floor of Spiva Library.
"Reflection and Celebration" will be held from 4-5 p.m. in Billingsly, Room 309, to conclude the day. Light refreshments will be served.
For more information contact Clark at (417) 625-9668 or send an e-mail here.
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