Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day January 16, 2012
Overview Oregon Campus Compact and nine colleges and universities brought together 1,000 students to explore education as a civil right and to celebrate Roosevelt High School, a North Portland school on the rise. This convening is the largest mobilization of college students on MLK Day in the country. Mission Statement The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is a higher education cooperative that builds community by teaching and educating about the beliefs of Dr. Martin Luther King through direct service that impacts the places we live, work, and study. Partners Concordia University Corporation for National and Community Service George Fox University Hands On Greater Portland Lewis and Clark College Mt. Hood Community College Oregon Campus Compact Portland Community College Portland State University Reed College Roosevelt High School United Way of the Columbia-‐Willamette University of Portland Warner Pacific College Impact 3,000 hours of service were donated to Roosevelt with an estimated economic value of over $64,000! Additionally: 1. Over 1,000 signs of encouragement were created and hung on Roosevelt lockers 2. 90% of Roosevelt’s classrooms were deep cleaned 3. All of the literature books in the library were alphabetized and organized 4. A non-‐handicap accessible outdoor path was removed and the grounds cleared
Along with much more cleaning, painting, moving, and organizing both inside and out!
“Education as a Civil Right” This year the day of service focused around education. To do this, both the educational opening rally as well as the service projects concentrated on the exploration of education as a civil right and encouraged student volunteers to take action towards creating an equitable and just society. Roosevelt High School In 2010 Roosevelt received $7.7 million in federal school improvement money as a “turnaround” school with an aim to raise graduation rates, improve test scores, and reform curriculum1. This year the MLK Day of Service collaborative chose to partner with Roosevelt to celebrate their recent successes and help continue building momentum to build a brighter future for students. Service Projects Facilities Work Inside the school students completed painting projects, cleaned hallways and classrooms, and repainted fireboxes. Outside the school students raked leaves and spruced up landscaping. Oral Histories To raise awareness of social injustices in the Portland area, Roosevelt has been documenting the work of those who have fought to correct injustices. To continue this work college students documented the stories of local community members, which will be compiled into a book that Roosevelt will use as a fundraiser for their student’s tour of historically black universities and colleges in the south as well as an archive of leadership stories. Sign Making Students created colorful signs of encouragement and support to celebrate Roosevelt’s momentum and to acknowledge the school’s incredible progress over the past year. Additional Projects Students also made paper peace cranes to hang around the school as part of an anti-‐bullying campaign, knitted scarves for babies of Roosevelt teen parents, and attended a Red Cross community preparedness training to enable them to be leaders in their community should the need arise.
“I loved that we were able to make such a huge impact on one location. Leaving such a big, positive mark on the Roosevelt campus was an incredible feeling.” – MLK Day student volunteer “It will make a big impression, especially when the Roosevelt students find out who did it, that it was a lot of college students who actually were here. It will inspire them in their academics.”2 – MLK Day student volunteer and Roosevelt High School alumnus
1 The Oregonian. (2010). Portland’s Roosevelt High gets $7.7 million to propel a turnaround. Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/ahJRJH 2 The Oregonian. (2012). College students give MLK Day of service at Roosevelt High School. Retrieved from: http://bit.ly/wXzmm8
