More than 800 volunteers took part in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service across Palm Beach County on January 19, according to organizers from Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County’s Kohl Jewish Volunteer Center. The event, supported by GL Homes, provided opportunities for community service at 25 different sites throughout the county.
Amy Gordon, director of the Kohl Jewish Volunteer Center, told CBS12: “We are out there in the community working altogether to show that we are stronger together. We want to repair the world through kindness.”
Volunteers included PBA students, faculty, staff, and local residents who participated in activities such as cleaning beaches, planting gardens, packing food with Meals of Hope and the Palm Beach County Food Bank, painting homes, visiting senior centers, and helping animal rescue organizations.
Nathan Chau, director of Workship at PBA said: “It’s so important because that’s Dr. King’s legacy. It’s coming together for the common good to serve others and bring harmony.”
This year marked six years of partnership between PBA and the Jewish Federation for MLK Day events; PBA has led these efforts for over 13 years.
Nineteen local nonprofits benefited from this year’s initiative. Among them was Tree of Life Resource Center—a group offering food assistance and other support services to those in need—whose founder Amanda Schumacher also provides internships and scholarships for PBA students.
Members of PBA’s Women’s Volleyball team packed meals with fresh produce and sorted clothing during their volunteer shift. Kelsey Rogers, a junior athlete studying exercise science at PBA said: “Being here is a good opportunity to volunteer together as a team and bond before we start our off-season next week. It’s great to have a day off from school but even better to give that day back to the community.” Her teammate Eduarda Dutra added: “I like volunteering. It brings life purpose.”
Meghan Mayo, director of Tree of Life Resource Center noted: “[MLK Day of Service] is helpful because it sets us up for more than one week of work or 550 meals so our staff can focus on other areas of need and how we can love on families in other ways.” The center plans future expansion into a larger facility with new programs including a full-time clinic.
At Meals of Hope, Dr. Debra A. Schwinn—president of Palm Beach Atlantic University—joined volunteers packing over 80,000 oatmeal breakfasts for school children while commending student participation countywide. Students’ hours contributed toward Workship requirements; since its founding in 1968, students have volunteered more than four million hours through this program (https://www.pba.edu/workship/).
Dr. Schwinn explained: “Workship is a program that Palm Beach Atlantic University has had since its inception where every single student [volunteers] 180 hours of community service over four years… It’s an integral part of who we are.”
By day’s end volunteers cleaned up 120 pounds of trash at various sites; packed hundreds of animal shelter meals; recovered thousands of pounds worth of tomatoes; among other contributions.
Michael Hoffman—the president and CEO at the Jewish Federation—thanked participants: “Everyone who came out represents all ages all faiths and people from many different backgrounds… You all could be doing many things with your time right now but you are giving back to make other people’s lives a little bit better. From the bottom of my heart thank you.”
Learn more about Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Workship program at https://www.pba.edu/workship/.
