Berks groups volunteering in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Local colleges students are among those who will be volunteering Monday at events around Berks County as part of the annual National Martin Luther King Day of Service.
One of those events is the Olivet Boys & Girls Club of Reading and Berks County's 14th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in the Miller Center for the Arts at Reading Area Community College.
About 300 Olivet children will be paired with 200 community volunteers who will work together throughout the day to better appreciate cultural diversity, nonviolent conflict resolution and King's legacy.
Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. Opening remarks will begin at 9 a.m.
Participants will enjoy lunch courtesy of Chick-Fil-A and Clover Farms.
To volunteer or participate, contact Rochelle Grey at 610-373-1314, ext. 208.
Among the volunteers will be students from Penn State Berks.
Also, more than 150 Kutztown University students will volunteer Monday for a dozen different projects around Berks, including at the Olivet event.
Other groups being helped by KU students including the Greater Berks Food Bank, the Children's Home of Reading and Mary's Shelter.
The KU students will collect donations to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Volunteers will be stationed on campus in two locations: the McFarland Student Union Building and Old Main. Items will be delivered to the Caribbean Community Group in Reading. Volunteers will then help with any sorting, packing or other needs the group may have.
Also Monday, about 175 Alvernia University students, faculty and staff will volunteer at 18 Martin Luther King Day events around the county, including at the Olivet event.
Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Alvernia's Student Center, faculty and staff will learn about King from Robert Jefferson, president of the Reading branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Dr. John C. Morgan, a philosophy and ethics professor at RACC and Penn State Berks; and Frank Gilyard, president of the Central Pennsylvania African American Museum.
