LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College will assist in hosting community activities to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. and Idaho Human Rights Day on Monday, Jan. 15.
Those interested in joining LCSC faculty, staff, and students in volunteering for a variety of service projects are encouraged to sign up on Jan. 15 at the Lewiston YWCA, located at 300 Main Street. Registration begins at 2 p.m., with volunteer projects running until about 4:30 p.m. There are more than 100 volunteer openings for the projects listed below. Last year, over 150 individuals took part.
Following the project work, the YWCA will host an informal reception with refreshments at 5 p.m., followed by an LCSC student panel discussing human rights.
Festivities continue with a candlelight walk from the YWCA to the LCSC Center for Arts & History, located at 415 Main Street, at 6 p.m. At the Center, the LCSC Choir and the Palouse Choral Society Chamber Choir will perform spirituals, gospel, and civil/human rights pieces, starting at 6:30 p.m. Former Lewiston City Council member and LC graduate Jesse Maldonado will serve as emcee, and LCSC President J. Anthony (Tony) Fernandez, along with Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee chairwoman Mary Jane Miles, will give welcomes.
The Martin Luther King Jr. and Idaho Human Rights Day Planning Committee, a group composed of LCSC personnel and community members, helps coordinate the events during the day.
The volunteer projects on Jan. 15 include:
- Lewiston Salvation Army: Sorting, organizing, and putting away food items for the giveaway pantry
- Idaho State Veterans Home: Play bingo with residents
- Lewiston Boys and Girls Club: Raking leaves and cleaning front parking lot
- Lewis Clark Animal Shelter: Walk and play with dogs
- Joey’s Blankets of Courage, Strength, and Hope: Making fleece blankets for area cancer patients (adults and children)
- First Step 4 Life: Assemble bags of toiletries for men and women
- Idaho Food Bank: Sort and repack food
- Northwest Children’s Home: Paint rooms of a newly renovated property
- St. Vincent DePaul (Lewiston and Clarkston): Sorting and hanging clothes, cleaning, and dusting
- Homes of Hope: Organize and sort clothing for foster children in need
- LC Valley Rocks: Paint rocks for abandoned art project
- Boys & Girls Club (Lapwai): Make and serve grilled cheese sandwiches
- Asotin Food Bank: Washing warehouse floor
- YWCA: Make greeting cards for local nursing home and assisted living center residents
- ROC Rescue Mission: Sorting clothes and cleaning
- Imagine Behavioral & Development Services: Clean and organize toys, books, and arts and crafts materials
For more information on the day, contact Chelsea Weeks, LCSC AmeriCorps VISTA, at 208-792-2668 or at [email protected].