Honoring the legacy of the civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., students, alumni, faculty and staff from ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø undertook three community projects around Atlanta, embodying Dr. King’s values of love, humanity and service.
More than 50 volunteers mobilized to the university’s Turner Lynch Campus Center early Monday morning, where Part-Time Instructor of Urban Leadership Vincent Thomas grounded the day’s activities in values imparted by Dr. King. He stressed the importance of taking action to effect change and the importance of community involvement.
“Justice is not a destination that we reach; it’s a relay race that we run. And it’s time to pick up the baton,” Professor Thomas charged the audience. “And now, the baton is in your hand.”
A special guest also joined the volunteers that morning:Â Al Vivian, the son of another renowned civil rights leader, C.T. Vivian.
Volunteers served at three locations around the city: Chastain Park Conservancy,ÌýRonald McDonald House, and Path Academy.
At Chastain Park, volunteers planted daffodils around the playground and sidewalks. Altogether, the volunteers planted more than 1,000 bulbs. Come spring, the vibrant yellow flowers will fully blossom, adding a touch of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø gold to the popular community park.
The daffodils signified more than just beauty. The flowers were planted as a contribution to The Worldwide Daffodil Project, a nationwide effort honoring the victims of the Holocaust. The initiative seeks to plant 1.5 million daffodils around the world, honoring the 1.5 million children that died in one of history’s worst humanitarian crises. Bright and optimistic, the daffodils were chosen as a means to give hope for the future — a future ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø volunteers helped envision through service.
“Participating in the project is not only a preservation of Dr. King’s dream of diversity, but beginning a new dream of hope!” said Nzinga Collins-Dabo ’29, a politics major who participated in the project. “I’m beyond grateful to have contributed to such a beautiful project of enriching our environment.”
At Ronald McDonald House, a non-profit that provides essential services and healthcare support to families around the world, volunteers prepared and served a free brunch to Atlanta families facing food insecurity. The volunteers assembled a wide array of menu items: parfaits, sliced fruits, breakfast tacos, sausage, bacon and more. Through their efforts, families were able to start the day with a sense of comfort, connection and joy.
The final volunteer group spent the morning brightening the halls of Path Academy, a local school that serves many refugee and immigrant families. Volunteers painted vibrant, uplifting quotes inside the restrooms to help create a more welcoming environment for young students who are adapting to a new community. As the paint dried, volunteers joined a handful of students for an impromptu dance party — an unexpected moment that perfectly captured the connection and celebration at the heart of the day’s service.
“MLK Day of Service is significant at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø as we seek to be a small part of Dr. King’s vision of ‘The Beloved Community,'” says Rhana Gittens Wheeler, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s chief inclusive excellence officer. “Our service on this day allows us to reach out to community partners and say, ‘Hey, we’d like to serve with you! We see what you’re doing and we’d like to be a part of what you are doing to shape a good society!'”
The day was also meaningful to the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø alumni who joined students in service. One of those alumni,ÌýKita-Marie Burr ’09, is the director of development and marketing for Chastain Park Conservancy, and helped organize the volunteer project there. For her, the project was a serendipitous full-circle moment.
“ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø is where my husband and I first learned what service really looks like, and it’s where our story began,” the alumnus recalled. “Years later, we both find ourselves working in nonprofits right here at Chastain Park, so joining students and faculty to plant and improve the playground on MLK Day felt especially meaningful.”
“It was a reminder that the values ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø instills don’t end at graduation; they shape how you show up for your community for years to come,” she added.
Together, the volunteers’ efforts were a powerful display of community care. Each project, grounded in service and connection, reflected Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to lift others through small, consistent acts of kindness. By the end of the day, the impact could be felt not only in the refreshed spaces and shared meals, but in the renewed sense of unity and purpose that comes from giving back alongside neighbors.
