NSU community logs nearly 900 hours of service on Martin Luther King Day of Service

(Tahlequah, Okla.)-- "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?"

This quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. guided this years Martin Luther King Day of Service across the country, and Northeastern State University was no exception.

For Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18, classes were closed on the NSU campuses, while its students and employees at the Tahlequah, Broken Arrow and Muskogee campuses used the day to be of service to others.

We wanted our students to really contemplate this question of what are you doing for others? Looking at the times we live in, our society is so wrapped up and rooted in the idea of the exclusive I or me rather than focusing on the bigger picture and inclusive we, DeJon Jordan, coordinator of diversity and inclusion within Student Affairs at NSU said.

Nearly 300 volunteers signed up for service, which translated into roughly 900 hours of community service completed in the Tahlequah and Broken Arrow communities. Volunteer efforts were focused on public schools including Tahlequahs elementary and middle schools, and Broken Arrows Vandever Elementary. Tasks included sanitizing classrooms, cleaning grounds and much needed painting.

Following the example of Dr. King who dedicated his life to serving others, we must care for our community by giving selflessly, Jordan said.

This years annual volunteer effort was put together by the RiverHawks Initiating Service and Engagement Scholarship Program (RISE). The primary goals of the program and the MLK Day of Service event are to create, maintain and grow service and community engagement in the NSU community.

Published: 2016-01-25 11:08:42.193000