“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

MELROSE — The city of Melrose and the Melrose Human Rights Commission (HRC) are pleased to present the HRC’s annual Day of Service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day) and invite the Melrose community to sign up for an in-person or virtual community-service opportunity taking place on Monday, January 16.

The community-service opportunities vary across all different age groups and interests. There are many opportunities being offered at two different time slots (either 10-10:45 a.m. or 11:15 a.m.-12 p.m.) to allow for volunteers to travel between and complete two different activities.

To volunteer, please visit the Sign-Up Genius to view the 400+ volunteer opportunities with 12 different local host organizations at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0948aea92aa3ffc34-2023#/

About Martin Luther King’s (MLK) Day of Service

In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, designating MLK Day as a National Day of Service—a day ON, not a day off. The MLK Day of Service is meant to empower individuals, strengthen communities and move us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community” where poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it.

For years, Melrose Human Rights Commission (HRC) has organized several community service activities that take place throughout the City on MLK Day.

This year’s local events and activities

Opening Doors Concert

featuring Pamela Means

Friday, January 13, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.

The Opening Doors Project will host a free concert, featuring Massachusetts singer-songwriter, Pamela Means, at the Melrose Unitarian Universalist Church, located at 70 E. Emerson Street.

Day of Service
 Monday, January 16, 2023, at 10 a.m.

On this city-wide MLK Day of Service, hundreds of people from all over Melrose will complete service activities across the City between the hours of 10 a.m. and 12 noon.

Sign-up for the service activities has been changed to an online format this year. Please visit the Sign-Up Genius to view over 400 volunteer opportunities with 12 different host organizations. If you are volunteering as a group or family, each person should be signed up individually, due to space limitations at many of the locations.  Many of the host organizations will be offering two volunteer shifts to allow community members to volunteer at different locations during this morning of service. The shifts will run from 10-10:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.- 12 noon

After you have signed up, please note the address of the location you will be donating your time to and the time of your shift. On Monday, please show up to your location and the organization host will greet you and give you further instruction for your act of service.

MLK Evening Program
 Monday, January 16, 2023, at 7 p.m.

Please join Melrose Human rights Commission at First Congregational Church, located at 121 W. Foster Street, for an evening dedicated to honoring the late Martin Luther King Jr. Opening remarks will be made by Mayor Paul Brodeur, followed by a keynote presentation by Mr. Roland Gibson. The evening will end with a musical performance by the MLK Day Choir.

Roland Gibson and his wife Joyce, also an educator, developed School and Community Associates (SCA) in 1994, to serve Local Education Agencies and Community. Based Organizations, as they seek to solve problems and achieve their mission more effectively. His 50-plus years in education include Educational Consultin in a wide variety of organizations such as Urban and Suburban School Districts, The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, The Brookview House, and The Efficacy Institute. Roland posseses decades of service in Public and Private Schools as a successful teacher, administrator, principal, and graduate school adjunct professor, provided Roland with an opportunity to combine enthusiasm, knowledge of schools and his love of children to become an effective agent for change.

He challenges traditional views of identity and approaches to education which profoundly impact student achievement, and their views of American History. He believes strongly that each educator has a role to play in improving the education process for all students and creating change in society. Under his leadership, the Voluntary-Busing-Education Program (METCO) became a Model School Desegregation Program in the Suburban-Boston community where he worked. He also played a major leadership and change-agent role in the statewide school desegregation organization.