To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, about 350 volunteers grabbed rakes, blowers, gloves and brushes.
Students and residents arrived at the Reitz Union early Monday to participate in the annual UF Center for Leadership and Service’s MLK Day of Service.
The event kicked off with breakfast in the Grand Ballroom, a visit from Alberta and performances from an African choir and the Gator Dazzlers.
Then, volunteers were divided into groups and sent to work at about 18 sites, said Angela Garcia, an event coordinator. Some sites included Einstein Montessori School, Forage Farm and the Historic Haile Homestead at Kanapaha Plantation. The only on-campus locations were Wilmot Gardens and the UF Natural Area Teaching Laboratory.
The volunteers participated in activities such as landscaping, gardening and painting, Garcia said.
At the end of the event, the service groups held reflection sessions to let volunteers share what they learned.
“The group reflection at the end is important because hopefully (volunteers) will make the connection of why they are doing that service and the ‘Now what?’” Garcia said.
Dan Sibol, a 21-year-old AmeriCorps VISTA employee, said the pumped-up kick-off ceremony helped energize volunteers.
“We have a lot of people here to get everyone excited, even an African choir,” he said. “We have kind of transformed it from just a ‘Here’s your site, see you later,’ to more of a celebration. And I think this is what it is all about, celebrating service and getting everyone together.”
Monday marked the seventh year of the UF Center for Leadership and Service’s MLK Day of Service.
A version of this story ran on page 5 on 1/21/2014 under the headline "Locals volunteer, serve in honor of MLK"
