UIS students participate in MLK Day of Service

Ashley Osuma grabbed a roller and got to work Monday painting the upstairs hallway at the Family Service Center in Springfield.

The O’Fallon native was one of 130 University of Illinois Springfield students volunteering Monday as part of the national Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

Osuma, a sophomore, said she isn’t much of a painter, but participated because she wants to do more volunteer work.

“I just wanted to do something more productive with my time and try and make a difference,” she said.

Mark Dochterman, director of the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center, said this was the fourth year the university has organized a day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The number of volunteers has grown from 30 students in year one to 130 this year, he said.

Because more students volunteered, Dochterman said, the university was able to expand the list of nonprofits it could help.

Habitat for Humanity, Hope Thrift Store, Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, M.E.R.C.Y. Communities, Ronald McDonald House, Senior Services of Central Illinois, Serving Jesus Willingly Mission and Springfield Urban League also got volunteer help Monday.

The story was featured in The State Journal-Register on January 19, 2016.

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