On Jan. 16, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, 120 students from Mamaroneck High School participated in eight different community service projects organized by other high school students. This was MHS’s third year commemorating the civil rights leader with a day devoted to service.

The Red Cross Club is a club focused on spreading knowledge of emergency procedure and safety. Eli Russ ‘13, the club president, met with members of the club at Garden Catering in Mamaroneck before splitting up into groups to distribute safety information throughout the town. “Disasters hit really hard in Mamaroneck,” said Russ, “and one of our goals as a club is to minimize the impacts of those disasters as much as we can.”

Fifteen students from MHS volunteered at the CAP Center in Mamaroneck. The CAP Center is a non-profit organization located on Center Street where residents of the village and town can receive food, household items, clothing, academic assistance and day care services. Students who volunteered there helped by organizing bookshelves for the day care, sorting clothing and other materials that had been affected by flooding and doing other jobs around the facilities.

Guisela Marroquin, the director of the CAP Center, was very pleased at how the day turned out. “It’s great that we can have students in our main space like this, because normally it’s hard for high school students to get here because we’re so out of the way.”

Students also had the opportunity to visit the residents of Sarah Neuman Center, a nursing home where seniors can receive healthcare and rehabilitation services from trained doctors and nurses. One such student, Kara Dougherty ’15, was shocked at how cheerful and friendly some of the residents were. “They took so much joy in the little things, and it made me feel so happy to be here,” she said.

MHS principal Elizabeth Clain, who spent the day working at the CAP Center, had positive things to say about this year’s community service events. “I think it’s wonderful that there are people who do this kind of work all year, but by creating such a concentration of service on this one day, it really helps build the community and brings us together,” she said.

In addition to helping the community, students involved in the MLK Day of Service were subjected to an inspiring, even humbling experience in becoming a part of a communal movement. With the number of participating students increasing each year, the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will have inserted itself into yet another aspect of our community.