While many commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with parades and ceremonies, students from OCDE’s Inside the Outdoors program annually celebrate the legacy of Dr. King by hosting their own MLK Day of Service event.
They did so again on Saturday, Jan. 16, with more than 100 local volunteers donating 300 service hours to collect 2,000 pounds of trash from the Upper Newport Bay estuary. The latest MLK Day of Service was organized by Inside the Outdoors – led by Development Manager Dawn Curtis – in partnership with the City of Newport Beach and OC Parks.
Volunteers included Orange County students across all grade levels, as well as Inside the Outdoors Foundation board members, community members and representatives from companies such as INK Agency, State Farm, Wells Fargo and US Bank. All were needed for a clean-up that yielded plenty of discarded food wrappers, cigarette butts and even an old, busted guitar.
“Each year, Inside the Outdoors hosts an MLK Day of Service at one of our field trip sites in local parks,” says Lori Kiesser, development director for Inside the Outdoors. “After teaching students and community members about the importance of Orange County’s natural areas, the days of service represent the opportunity for all of us to honor Dr. King by applying what we have learned to real life experiences.”
Check out the Inside the Outdoors website for more info.