It wasn’t an easy day off for more than 90 University of Illinois Springfield students who pitched in Monday at seven nonprofit agencies. The students volunteered at the different agencies in Sangamon County as part of a national day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
For some students, it meant painting walls, hanging ceiling tiles, moving furniture, fanning neighborhoods to share information about preventing home fires or sorting supplies.
The American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, Midwest Mission Distribution Center, Mini O’Beirne Crisis Nursery, M.E.R.C.Y. Communities and Ronald McDonald House all received volunteer help Monday.
Mark Dochterman, director of the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center, said this was the third year the university has organized a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“We feel as a state institution, and with our Land of Lincoln heritage, it’s our responsibility to teach students that being part of the community you belong to is a lifelong commitment you should make,” Dochterman said.
The story appeared online in The State Journal-Register on Monday, January 19, 2015.
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