While many had the day off, volunteers and service groups were working hard on Monday, educating residents and recruiting help at the county’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Hosted by the Montgomery County Volunteer Center, the annual event at the Bethesda North Marriott Conference Center is part volunteer fair, part service project, with a mix of educational activities.
Nearly two dozen organizations lined the outside of the conference center grand ballroom, with more than 30 service projects inside the room.
Hundreds of residents filed into the center to assemble wellness bags with the Montgomery County Commission on Children and Youth, write letters to orphans through Paper Bridges and crochet blanket squares for the Warm Up America! Foundation.
No event inhibited foot traffic like the Menare Foundation’s picketing station, with residents writing words or expressions on signs and posing in front of a Martin Luther King Jr. banner. Entries ranged from broad ideas such as “hope” and “love” to specific charges such as “the Dream Act” and “no separating kids from families.”
“Being able just to write down your one word or thought is amplified tenfold in an environment like this,” Menare founder Tony Cohen said. “It’s a great expression of why people come here, why people do these kind of events, and why this day is one of the most important days of the year.”
Menare is a nonprofit focused on preserving the history of the Underground Railroad. Cohen said the group usually does some sort of informative project at the day of service, but the Volunteer Center asked if they could do something more “inspirational and interactive.”
Adjacent to Menare’s activity were families and individuals using every inch of available floor space to fashion no-sew fleece blankets for Montgomery Hospice patients and their families. The American flag print was easily the most popular design, as those are given to military veterans as a show of gratitude.
“It’s really important now that the Vietnam veterans are hospice age, very often no one has ever thanked them for their service,” said Montgomery Hospice Director of Volunteer Services Christiane Wiese.
Of the groups searching for new helpers, two had a distinct advantage. Both Hero Dogs Inc. and Warrior Canine Connection (WCC) enticed future volunteers with Labradors, and with great success.
“Jackie,” seven months old, sat in front of the WCC display waiting for attention. Named in honor of United States Navy Lt. Jacqueline Melvin, she’s still in training as a service dog for a veteran with disabilities.
Dogs at WCC not only care for veterans, they’re trained by former military members.
“It’s very therapeutic for them, and helps us train the dogs for the fellow servicemember that gets them,” WCC Puppy Parent Program Manager Cheryl Bingham said.
Following the day of service, the county held a celebration at the Music Center at Strathmore.
County Executive Marc Elrich honored civil rights activist Rosalyn Woodward Pelles as the county’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award recipient.
Pelles served on the Montgomery County Women’s Commission, the Human Rights Commission and the the Montgomery County Board of Elections, working for over three decades toward preserving civil and workers’ rights.
