Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Project: “Be Kind Like MLK.”
Texas Panhandle—The Leaders Readers Network collaborated with Youth Service America, the Mott Foundation, and AmeriCorps to launch a full-scale service project across our state and in select cities across our nation. Educators, Student Ambassadors, and additional student leaders embraced the extraordinary privilege of promoting Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's legacy with our "Be Kind Like MLK" theme and "Be The Change" promotion. Projects consisted of creating words of encouragement for TLRN's book labels, composing gratitude notes of custodians and sanitation workers, creating murals and collages, and creating walls of kindness. Furthermore, each activity was launched with an interactive student-facilitated read-aloud. Students were engaged in the process of service and teachers and other community partners helped to ensure the successful completion of the project. With the ideas created by our youth, our MLK Service Project was implemented with 6,624 volunteer hours from 2,208 participants including 47 project facilitators and 19 different partners.
This project would not have been possible with out the support of Youth Service America, the Mott Foundation, and AmeriCorps. Thanks to their generous sponsorship, we were able to implement our MLK Service project on various campuses and sites with the help of the following: Tascosa High School, Palo Duro High School, Canyon High School, The Place, West Texas A&M University AmeriCorps, Reeves-Hinger Elementary, Gillette Elementary School, Amana Academy, Lakewood Elementary, Carver ECA, Paramount Elementary, Bivins Elementary, Olsen Park Elementary, Wolflin Elementary, Glenwood Elementary, San Jacinto Elementary, Wills Elementary, Willow Vista ECA, and Coronado Elementary.
“Going into the lesson I was super worried the kid’s would not stay engaged and would not understand the book fully. But, when making adjustments with the book and paraphrasing the words so the kids could understand better, it was a great turnout! I was so happy with how interested and invested the kids were in the book and the project. They absolutely loved being able to contribute to the hands on poster and I loved being able to see which ways they can show kindness even more!
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“I really enjoyed having lessons with my kids about being kind, and the book went well with that. Although the book was hard for my kids to understand, after dissecting it and making the kindness garden, it helped them understand better. This also came at a great time in the year because being kind to another is something that my students have been struggling with and this really helped even though it has only been a few days.
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“Even though this speech was from 1967, it applies to today. Each component of the speech is important to develop into a great person.
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“I really enjoyed this book and lesson. I think the book had a good message and the activity the kids really enjoyed. They liked being able to name things about being kind and helping their friends. Also they enjoyed being able to color the flowers and making them their own and putting them all together. I think it taught them a good lesson while also showing an easy and effective way to learn about the topic and importance of MLK and his dream goals.
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“Today a reader tomorrow a leader! It was super fun reading this book to my ACE kids! We learned that using talking buttons helped them understand the book better and pointing out the pictures in the book as well. Teaching kids with special needs is such a privilege, but can be challenging at times. I am learning everyday how to better serve their needs. For example using the speaking buttons while reading. 🩷🩷
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“Even though we have come a long way since the 1960’s, we still have a long way to go for equality: for women, people with disabilities, socioeconomically challenged and ALL ethnicities.
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Our mission is to cultivate a national network of leaders who provide books, supplies, and projects to support early literacy in underfunded schools. For 13 years, TLRN has been a leading advocate for children’s literacy and educator empowerment. Our annual MLK Service Project provides us with the opportunity to commemorate the lifelong legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his championed excellence of civil disobedience during the Civil Rights Movement. As our nation continues to strive to promote equity and justice for all, we have the responsibility to ensure our world is better–not just by our words–but by our deeds.