H OnOring D r . M ArTin L uTHer K ing , J r .
Volunteer: Make a Difference in the Name of Dr. King
By Helen Silvis
Of The Skanner News
I
nspired, uplifted and committed to making a differ-
ence in our communities: That’s how millions of
Americans feel when they think about Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Now, all of us have another opportunity to
make Dr. King’s message ring out loud across Portland,
by volunteering, Jan. 13-16, over the King holiday week-
end.
“What was Martin Luther King’s life about? It was a
life of service,” says Jay Bloom, interim director of
United Way of the Columbia Willamette, “I think if he
was with us today, he’d be calling on us to give our serv-
ice.”
Since it began 26 years ago, the Skanner Foundation’s
Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast has honored
those who give voluntary service to others. This year the
foundation is supporting United Way’s 5th annual Martin
Luther King weekend of service.
“Let’s show we heard Dr. King’s message by making
this the biggest volunteer weekend ever,” said Bernie Fost
er, publisher of The Skanner News.
Whatever your interests and skills, with more than 50 proj-
ects on offer around the Metro-region, United Way has a proj-
ect for you. You can volunteer for as little as two hours or for
all four days if you like. You can be outdoors or indoors. You
can even bring along the family.
Cultivate East Side Pride by helping the Rosewood Initiative
get a new café and community center up and running. Help
feed hungry families by stocking the pantry at Oregon Food
Bank. Or get down and dirty with Hacienda’s Salon Comunal,
who are cleaning up the Cully neighborhood.
Bloom says there is no better way to honor the slain civil
rights leader than to make his holiday ‘A Day on Not a Day
Off.’
“It’s like that old saying, ‘I complained I had no shoes until
I met a man who had no foot,’” he says. “Each of us have
blessings and we can all help our neighbors.”
See UniTEd page 5
The Skanner News would
like to thank the following
sponsors for their support
of the 2012
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Special Edition
City of Vancouver
energy Trust of Oregon
Family Care
Home Forward
Kaiser Permanente
Legacy Health
Lincoln City
Macys
Metro Purchasing
Multnomah County
nAACP Vancouver Branch
Oregon episcopal School
Oregon Health & Science university
Oregon Lottery
Pacific nW regional Council of Carpenters
Pacific Power & Light
Port of Portland
Portland City Bureau of Purchases
Portland Community College
Portland Development Commission
Portland Public Schools
Portland State university
Portland Trailblazers
Project Clean Slate
Providence Health Systems
Safeway inc.
Tri-Met
Turner Construction
u.S. Senator ron Wyden
united Way
university of Oregon
uSDA Forest Service
Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church
Wells Fargo Bank
World Arts Foundation
Page 4 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Martin Luther King Edition January 11, 2012