The YMCA Day of Service was held on January 18. Seventy-five school aged children participated. This event was offered at no charge with the intent to educate children about service and give them the opportunity to participate in service projects. They were also given lunch and entertained with an hour of active play at the end of the event. This was a service to parents of children who were off school for Martin Luther King Day.
The Y served as a community partner with Walsh University as a part of MLK Day of Service (A national initiative). Twelve Cavalier football players and a coach from Walsh volunteered their day off and were assigned as “Camp Counselors” to groups of kids with Y staff and volunteers as support. A variety of service projects were performed by the kids, including the filling of “Blessing bags” filled with personal care essentials and a hand-made card of encouragement. These bags will be delivered by Y staff members to the Refuge of Hope in Canton and distributed to homeless people served by the organization. The items for the bags were donated by community members.
The children created posters with their groups with the focus on ”How can I serve in my community” and presented each to the larger group. These are currently on display in the North Canton YMCA Youth Lobby area.
All told, the students and volunteers logged a total of 284 volunteer hours for the MLK Day of Service, which added to the over-arching total of an astounding 2200 hours of service logged in Stark County for this MLK Day event. The MLK Day of service is a national initiative which encourages volunteerism in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King.