10th Annual MLK Jr. Day of Service

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The 10th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is an event at BGSU engaging hundreds of students, faculty, and staff members in community service projects at multiple community partner sites in Northwest Ohio.  In honor of MLK Jr., we serve on this holiday to make it a day on, not a day off.

To make this event possible each year the Center for Community & Civic Engagement raises funds to cover the cost of event supplies and transportation.  Transporting students to 35 different community partner sites throughout Northwest Ohio is our largest expense for the day, costing roughly $7,200 for 10 charter buses and as many vans.  By donating you will help transport a student to a service site where they will give back on their day off, but will also plant the seed of their active citizenship journey.  Students often return to their project sites after MLK Jr. Day to continue to serve and advocate for the community organization and the issues they address.

This signature BGSU event has grown from 50 participants in 2008 to more than 800 participants in 2017 with more than 4,900 students, faculty, and staff volunteering throughout the past 10 years.  Volunteers have contributed more than 19,600 hours of community service to the local community, which translates to an regional economic impact of $452,000 (based on Independent Sector valuation of a volunteer hour at $23.07/hour).

BGSU has committed to the MLK Jr. Day of Service for the past ten years because it aligns with our mission as an educational institution to provide experiential education inside and outside of the classroom to prepare our students for lives of engaged citizenship and leadership in a global society.  Additionally, this event is an example of our commitment to our core values to respect one another and foster diversity and a culture of inclusion, and to collaborate with each other and our community partners to impact the region, the State of Ohio, the nation and the world. 

We appreciate your commitment to BGSU students and the community organizations that collaborate to provide students with meaningful civic learning experiences.  Help us make the 10th MLK Jr. Day of Service the best yet!