The federal agency that leads the national Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), has selected The Arc and five other organizations as grantees to plan and execute volunteer projects that will unite Americans in service. The local 2016 MLK Day of Service will take place on Monday, Feb. 15 and The Arc Big Bend is coordinating an event where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) will volunteer alongside people without disabilities in an activity related to access to healthy food for the community.
The event will be hosted at Amos Turner Field located at 243 SW Arnold Avenue (by the old middle school) in Madison on Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch will be served free of charge to all who attend from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please join The Arc and share a meal with neighbors and friends and participate in activities for people of all ages.
“People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have so much to offer their communities and this day of service opportunity provides them the chance to give back. Many perceive people with disabilities as the ones in need of service—but in reality, they are often a part of civic engagement at the state, local and national level,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc. “Being a part of this national community service day will shine a spotlight on what people with disabilities offer in their community.”
Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans participate in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service, the nation’s largest day of civic engagement. In 1994, Congress designated MLK Day as the first and only federal holiday observed as a national day of service and charged CNCS with leading this effort.
The Arc advocates for and serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), including Down syndrome, autism, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, cerebral palsy and other diagnoses. The Arc has a network of more than 665 chapters across the country that promote and protect the human rights of people with I/DD and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes and without regard to diagnosis.