Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Home

By Mrs. Farnham (teacher, mom, CMoR member)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is on Monday, January 18th, 2021. This holiday was created as a day of service to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. My family usually finds a service activity, such as volunteering at a park clean-up or in a soup kitchen, to do together on this day each year. I strongly believe that serving others helps my children see a wider view of the world and become more empathetic citizens. Due to Covid precautions, many of the organized Richmond service activities are not occurring this year. Here is what my family will be doing instead just in case you are also looking for something to do together.

Read Be a King by Carole Boston Weatherford

You can watch the video here of my reading or get a copy of this book for your family library. Discussing Dr. King with younger children can be a challenge. I love how this book references King’s life while connecting his message to the lives of children. Kids will be able to see how to be leaders in their own communities.

Pick a Family Service Project

Project Idea 1: Donate to Feed More

Feed More’s food bank supplies more than 300 community food sites. Whenever donating to Feed More, I check their Most Needed Item list to decide what would be most useful. I took my kiddos to the store to pick a few things to donate. We discussed the importance of picking things that are useful and delicious while shopping. I also tried to get things that don’t require extra ingredients to make. For older kids, it can be humbling to see how much food costs. For younger kids, letting them help pick out items they enjoy can help connect the shopping activity to dropping them off at Feed More. 

All donations can be dropped off at Feed More.

Project Idea 2: Make Valentine’s Day Cards

Henrico’s EngAGE Program is asking for handmade Valentine’s Cards for long-term care residents. Long-term care residents and their families have had such a challenging year with Covid and a little sunshine from your family would surely be appreciated. The EngAGE Program asks that the cards be creative with a generic message to help with distribution.

My older child designed a few cards and let my 2 year old decorate them. They turned out great!

All cards can be mailed and need to arrive by Feb. 5th.

Project Idea 3: Neighborhood Clean Up

When I was a kid, my brother and I had a monthly chore of walking up our road with gloves and trash bags. We would both try to fill a bag with trash to help keep our neighborhood clean. It was such a simple activity, but it helped me take pride in the place I lived. 

My family is planning to take a walk around the neighborhood with trash bags and pick up any trash we come across. Imagine if we all picked up litter when we saw it?

Support CMoR

Be sure to share this post and your service projects with us on Facebook or Instagram! I’d love to see how your family is choosing to honor Dr. King this year.

Of course, if you are still in a giving mood, CMoR is a nonprofit that provides numerous community resources. You can donate here. CMoR also has an amazing Book Bank that accepts gently used children’s books which are donated to low-income students. You can find more information about this great resource here.