Jan. 20th marked the annual federal holiday of Martin Luther King Day. This milestone is a great opportunity for Americans all over the nation to serve their communities in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The MLK day of service traditionally empowers individuals to make a difference in their communities, whether it’s picking up trash, connecting to a different cultural demographic, or even learning about a social issue within society. The possibilities are endless.

So why serve on MLK day? Dr. King was a strong believer in a nation where there was justice for all and everybody had the freedom to live their lives in the way that they chose. Dr. King once said,  ”Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He encouraged all Americans to live with the purpose of helping America to reach its full potential, by living in a way that would help America to develop one cohesive community with equality for all. The MLK Day of service is the perfect way to carry on Dr. King’s dream and teachings, through means of social action within the community, helping to solve various social issues.

This past MLK Day, on Mon. Jan. 20th, 2014 members of the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy community chose to honor Dr. King and his values at the “HBHA@Harvesters: MLK Day of Service.” HBHA students and parents met at the Harvesters Community Food Network to participate in a day of service. Harvesters is a Kansas City area food bank, helping to solve the issue of hunger in the Kansas City area. Participants helped with the “BackSnack” program, which provides backpacks of food to thousands of low-income children who often rely exclusively on free and reduced-price school meals during the school week. The backpack’s full of food and snack will provide these children with food for the weekend when they do not have access to their regular school meals.

Eighth grader Gabrielle Abrams felt that MLK day was meaningful and enjoyable. Abrams said, “Doing service on MLK Day was a really rewarding experience, and it was also a lot of fun,” Abrams said. “My friends and I packed a ton of food and it was a good feeling knowing that we helped to feed kids in our community who don’t have the same opportunities as we do.”

First grader Frankie Goldstein had never been to Harvesters before, but made made up for this with his enthusiasm, “I made a lot of food! It was fun putting it in backpacks. I hope the other first graders like it!”

Together HBHA parents and children made a large impact on their local communities, as well as honored the late Dr. King.