MLK DAY 2011

It was a successful Martin Luther King Jr. day for HandsOn Central Ohio.  Dozens of central Ohio AmeriCorps members were trained to create and lead volunteer projects at the home office.  Hundreds of local kids and young adults were engaged in volunteering at the King Arts Complex.  Thousands of Columbus residents were introduced to the HandsOn Central Ohio organization at Mayor Michael Coleman’s MLK day address. 

A group of Central Ohio AmeriCorps members were introduced to the famous HandsOn Central Ohio hospitality when they were invited in for one of Marjie Bland’s stirring trainings about Project and volunteer leadership.  Galen Roth hosted a round of justice conversation that was as insightful as it was engaging, that is to say an eye-opening exercise in broadening horizons and multicultural understanding.

HandsOn Central Ohio was then off to its next MLK activity, hosting a volunteer session for kids and adults at the King Arts Complex.  The youths attending the event were encouraged to make greeting cards to complement Meals on Wheels deliveries, and to paint their interpretation of Dr. King’s dream on canvases that will adorn the Columbus Metropolitan main library.  The kids had a great time and contributed works of art worthy La Louvre.  (If only the Parisians weren’t so bourgeois about their article admissions policies)

Finally was Mayor Michael Coleman’s march from City Hall to Veteran’s Memorial.  At Veteran’s Memorial, HandsOn Central Ohio hosted a volunteer engagement fair to introduce the event’s attendees to many of Columbus’s nonprofits.  The event was huge.  Thousands attended, including members of the 2010-2011 Allstate Sugar Bowl Champion Buckeyes.  All were introduced to HandsOn Central Ohio by the mayor himself in his speech.  

MLK day 2011 was a full “Day On” for HandsOn Central Ohio but we made it through more energized than ever.  It’s hard to quantify the effect of events like HandsOn Central Ohio’s efforts on MLK day; awareness is a difficult metric to capture, but thinking about all the good that can come out of all those newly engaged citizens is truly awesome (literally inspiring of awe not the overused colloquialism the word has become).