MLK Day of Service

Martin Luther King, Jr. was deeply committed to serving others and helping foster a most just society. Every year, thousands of people across the United States come together to honor Dr. King through service projects, scholarship opportunities, and worship services. High Point University and the surrounding community are growing their partnership to make MLK Day a day on rather than a day off.

 

We invite you to participate in any or all of the MLK Day opportunities to worship, fellowship, and serve throughout MLK Day weekend. You can use #MLKDayHPU on all social media to document the weekend.

• Saturday, January, 17:
  • 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM:          14th Annual MLK, JR. Parade
    • Join us for the annual MLK Day Parade that will start at Brentwood & E. Green Streets, and end at Park Street. All are welcome to register and be part of the parade, or to cheer on from the street side. For more information, contact the Carl Chavis YMCA at 336.434.4000.
  • 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM:          Poetry Slam, Interactive Art
    • The English Club and Diversity Club of High Point University have partnered to host a poetry slam and interactive art session that will be set up at the end of the MLK parade. If you are interested in submitting a slam piece, please contact Devan Plyler.
  • 5:00 PM – 5:45 PM:           Film Screening Reception
    • Join us in Phillips 120 for a reception prior to a screening of the film High point: A Memoir of the African-American Community.
  • 5:45 PM – 6:30 PM:           Film Screening – High Point: A Memoir of the African-American Community
    • Please join us in Phillips 120 on the HPU campus for a screening of this film.
  • 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM:           Film Panel Discussion
• Sunday, January, 18:
  • 11:00 AM – 1:00 AM      Community Bike Ride, Trash Pick-up, Community Lunch
    • Join us for a morning bike ride throughout the city. We’ll stop along the way to help beautify our streets. The start and ending location will be at the benches at Armstrong Park. You can register to participate at those benches 20 minutes prior to the ride. If you don’t have a bike or don’t know how to ride, worry not! Others will be traveling by foot. We’ll end our morning bike ride and trash pick-up with a FREE lunch together.
  • 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM          Hunger Banquet, Wilson Commerce Ballroom, HPU
    • REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
    • The High Point University Bonner Leader Program will host a hunger banquet for the community. Each participant will be given a story, which tells about the socio-economic class they are and how much food they are allotted. Please join us for an interactive discussion on poverty, class systems, and justice. Please register to attend the Hunger Banquet here.
• Monday, January 19:
  • 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM      Annual Breakfast and Oratorical Competition, Oak Hollow Mall (old JC Penney)*
    • Scholarships are awarded each year to deserving high school seniors from the High Point community who demonstrate excellent moral, academic, and civic leadership in the true spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tickets are $15, tables $120. For more information or tickets, call 336-883-3124.
  • 11:00 AM -12:00 PM      HPU Worship Service, Charles E. Hayworth, Sr. Memorial Chapel*
    • A community worship service, featuring guest preacher Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. (to read more about Rev. Warnock, click here).  Special musical direction will also be provided by Dr. Louise Toppin, Chair of the Voice Department at UNC-Chapel Hill (read more about Dr. Toppin at her website, click here), and the Genesis Gospel Choir. Read more about the service and HPU Religious Life on their website, visit it by clicking here.
  • 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM         Evening Worship and Celebration Service, Williams Memorial CME Church*
    • Join us in worship led by guest preacher Eboni Marshall Turman, Asst. Research Prof. of Black Church Studies and Director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School (read more about Prof. Marshall Turman by clicking here). We will announce the oratorical scholarship competition winners at this service.
  • Service Projects              Various times, various locations
    • REGISTRATION IS CLOSED
    • HPU students, staff and faculty, and community non-profit agencies, churches, schools, and individuals have worked hard to develop service opportunities throughout the City of High Point. To read about the service opportunities and sign up, click on the Volunteer Now button!

*The United Way of High Point is hosting a food drive all day. All of the above locations are drop-off locations.

Last year, with the help of some 400 volunteers we served on 35 projects at 13 different locations throughout High Point. We want to do even more this year, and we hope you’ll be involved. To see a highlight of all that we were able to do in the community last year, take a look at the links below.

Dr. Blosser shares the meaning of MLK Day

“A Day On, Not Off”

Storify of MLK projects and photos

For additional photos of the day, check out our Facebook page.

 

Shannon Barr (sbarr@highpoint.edu): University MLK Relations
Kemi Ademuyewo (kademuye@highpoint.edu): Community MLK Relations
Anna Mahathey (amahathe@highpoint.edu): Website Registration