In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s enduring legacy of service, students at Two Rivers High School took a 'day on' rather than a day off, engaging in various service projects to honor the civil rights leader, as reported by CBS News Minnesota. Key Club members, alongside volunteers from the community, took part in activities including writing appreciation cards, preparing bone marrow donation swab kits, crafting tissue paper flowers for assisted living residents, and assembling snack packs for the United Way. "It really is to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. He made such an impact on our lives and gave back so much to us and it's our responsibility to do that too," Key Club President Anna Wilson told CBS News Minnesota.
Simultaneously, Anoka High School students found their way to pay tribute, creating a "We Have a Dream" wall, adorned with quotes and photos of Dr. King, where students penned their aspirations inspired by King's iconic speech, according to the school’s website. "Making the MLK Day project was important to me because people my age think of this day as just a day off of school, they never remember and honor who the day is about and why we celebrate, so making this project touched me and made me feel like I was doing my part," Varney Kiawu, a 10th grader at Anoka High School told their website.
The initiatives at both schools underscore a communal sense of responsibility in carrying forward the message of Martin Luther King Jr. At Two Rivers, the response to the day of service has swelled the ranks of the Key Club, as a testament to the growing desire among the youth to enact positive change, the Key Club has bloomed from an initial 30 to 100 proactive students, turning their larger goals into regular weekly service projects that resonate throughout their community.
Accompanying the tangible efforts such as snack packing and wall decorating, there's a deeper rededication to the values King championed, with lessons in love and anti-racism beginning early, Larae Dodson of the Two Rivers Key Club observed, "Racism starts when you're little or learning to love everybody starts when you're little, I think it's important that these kids grow up knowing what the people in our past did so we can be where we are now," she told CBS News Minnesota; this ethos is shared by Anoka High School’s Vivienne Williamson who guided the "We Have a Dream" wall project, she said that peace was the cornerstone of Dr. King’s philosophy, urging students to internalize and carry this message forward, according to the school’s publication.
