Nashville university students join hands for MLK Day of Service

Nashville university students join hands for MLK Day of Service

Students from all over Nashville joined hands in a service-filled day to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Over 300 volunteers from Belmont, Fisk, Lipscomb, Tennessee State, Trevecca and Vanderbilt teamed up for MLK Day of Service on Saturday. Dr. King believed that anyone could serve. He revolutionized the society he was living in with values that are still relevant today. The day of service provided students with an opportunity to reflect on those values that Dr. King stood for. Students met at TSU to fellowship and kick off the day. The universities partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank, Feed the Children, Project C.U.R.E., Habitat ReStore and Soles4Souls. One group helped to alleviate hunger in Middle Tennessee by sorting through food, while other groups sorted through shoes, medical supplies and recycled materials. For Christin Shatzer, Lipscomb’s SALT Program director, it is a tradition for Lipscomb students serve, especially during the MLK weekend. “For the last number of years, it has always been multi-university collaborative initiative,” Shatzer said. “Given the themes of the holiday we are celebrating, it’s great for us to have collaboration across the different campuses.” Though some students were not familiar with each other, they joined together to make an impact on the community and recognized that as a whole, they are a part of something much larger. “Even though it’s 2015, a lot of the things that we are reminded of as we celebrate MLK Day are just as relevant as ever, if maybe not more pressing than ever,” Shatzer...

Lipscomb to make MLK Day of Service a weeklong event

Service and change is the focus for the Lipscomb community as students and faculty remember the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Lipscomb’s multicultural organization Kappa Iota Theta will host “Change for Change!,” a weeklong change drive. Students can bring their extra change to the student center front desk to help purchase school supplies for the Youth Life Learning Center. “The Change for Change drive is a great example of how small change can add up and make such a big difference,” said Elizabeth Hayes, Intercultural Engagement and Development administrative assistant. “We want students to remember that sometimes, it’s the small deeds that are truly impactful.” Students from Lipscomb, Belmont, Fisk, Vanderbilt, Tennessee State and Trevecca will come together at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18, in Tennessee State University’s Kean Hall to kick off the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Students will have several opportunities to choose from, including helping to paint McKissack Middle School, sorting food at Second Harvest Food Bank, painting a mural at Hadley Park Community Center, sorting medical supplies at Project C.U.R.E. and helping the Christian Women’s Job Corps of Middle Tennessee move to their new location. “The MLK Day of Service is a significant event in that it’s one of the only times in which all the universities come together, and it’s really exciting to see that vision that MLK had of serving, that everybody can serve,” SALT program coordinator Cara Harris said. “And I think just the way [students] take some time to come together and learn about why they’re doing it, that’s what makes it a unique service opportunity for Lipscomb...