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| Littrell Lane, a senior Delta State art student, adds the finishing touches to a mural at H.M. Nailor Elementary School. The service project was completed in conjunction with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. |
Delta State University was closed Monday in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. For 50 Delta State students, though, it was not a day off but rather a day on, as they participated in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.
This year, the service project was held at H.M. Nailor Elementary School. Volunteers repainted the school cafeteria, painted a mural and wrote letters to Nailor students. The mural was painted on one of the cafeteria walls under the direction of Littrell Lane, a senior Delta State art student.
“The event was a great success because of all the volunteers,” said John Heggen, who organized the event. “We anticipated that most volunteers would stay for about an hour, but most worked for three.”
In 1994 the United States Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, which designated the King Holiday as national day of volunteer service. Since then, the number of people celebrating the life and teachings of Dr. King by serving their communities on the King Holiday has increased every year. Dr. King notably contended, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”
The project was a collaborative effort of Delta State University’s Delta Center for Culture and Learning, Delta Volunteers, which is a United Way Agency, and H.M. Nailor Elementary School. Many groups also volunteered and helped make the project a success: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Phi Mu Sorority and the Delta State University Social Work Club.
For more information, please contact the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at (662) 846-4311 or online at www.blueshighway.org.
