海角大神

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, 鈥淟ife鈥檚 most persistent and urgent question is: 鈥榃hat are you doing for others?鈥欌�澛�

For more than 20 years, the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that promotes volunteering,聽has led the MLK Day of Service as the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service. Offices and schools are closed across the country Monday, but volunteers are preparing to honor the late civil rights leader through "a day on, not a day off.鈥澛�

Boston Cares, a nonprofit that seeks to support Greater Boston schools and other nonprofit agencies, asks volunteers to come together to to create Reading Success Kits for a number of local elementary schools. Each kit includes grade-specific books, literacy flashcards, and reading games. By the end of Monday, Boston Cares hopes to have 50 new bookshelves painted and at least 120 volunteer-crafted 鈥渟tory starter鈥� picture books.聽

In Richmond, Va., community members are invited to attend a free movie screening of "Selma" in the historical Byrd Theater. Local universities such as the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University are hosting free events for faculty, staff, students and the community including story hours on MLK鈥檚 life and history for children, and educational walking tours of Richmond.

And across the country in California, the Bay Area offers local communities a number of ways to remember MLK and serve one another. The African American Museum & Library in Oakland is hosting its 10th annual MLK Jr. Film Festival by 鈥減resenting a selection of critically acclaimed films that put into historical perspective the Civil Rights movement and its heroes.鈥� Children and adults alike are also invited to volunteer with East Bay Regional Park District staff, contributing to park restoration and invasive plant removal.聽

Only 37 percent of companies give employees a paid day off to honor MLK. This percentage may seem small, but it has been growing in recent years. In fact, after standard holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, MLK day now tops companies鈥� lists for paid holidays off.聽

Beyond office closings, some companies organize service activities for employees in honor of MLK. Accenture in Charlotte, N.C., for example, organizes a volunteer event for employees through local Habitat for Humanity projects.

鈥淢artin Luther King, Jr. Day is not only for celebration and remembrance, education and tribute, but above all a day of service,鈥� writes Coretta Scott King in her essay 鈥楾he Meaning of the King Holiday,鈥� posted on The King Center鈥檚 website. 鈥淚t is a day of volunteering to feed the hungry, rehabilitate housing, tutoring those who can鈥檛 read, mentoring at-risk youngsters, consoling the broken-hearted and a thousand other projects for building the beloved community of his dream.鈥澛�

As The King Center suggests, 鈥淒r. King knew that it wasn鈥檛 enough just to talk the talk, that he had to walk the walk for his words to be credible.鈥澛�

The Associated Press reports:

By visiting MLKday.gov, volunteers can search for service opportunities in their communities.聽