INDIANA UNIVERSITY PURDUE UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS

COMMUNICATIONS & MARKETING Administration Building, Suite 136 355 N. Lansing Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46202-2896 317-274-7711 Fax: 317-274-5457

IUPUI PLANS "DAY-ON" OF COMMUNITY SERVICE TO HONOR KING LEGACY

INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI will once again mark the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with a "Day-On" of community service.

On January 21, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis staff, faculty and students will perform volunteer services at several Indianapolis community sites during the campus's fourth annual "Day-on" held in honor of the legacy of King's life of service.

Though the campus will be closed for classes, IUPUI continues to build upon the tradition of spending the King holiday doing volunteer community work, rather than using the holiday just as a day off, said David Fredricks, Office of Neighborhood Resources grant project manager.

"Dr. Martin Luther King was a very staunch believer in giving back to one's community by volunteering in some form or fashion," Fredricks said. "In King's day, it was volunteering toward the civil rights. Today we can work toward ending some of the social ills of society, such as homelessness and the lack of adequate safe places for community youth activities."

Volunteers will work at nine sites, including the Atkins Boys and Girls Club, Holy Family Shelter, Indianapolis Senior Citizens Center, Easter Homes Limited and Riverside Elementary School and more. Activities include painting, serving lunch, and rehabilitating homes for low-income families, and more.

The morning of volunteer work will precede the 32nd annual IUPUI Dr. Martin Luther King Dinner sponsored by the Black Student Union. The dinner will begin at 7 p.m. at the Indiana Roof Ballroom, 140 W. Washington St., Indianapolis. Guest speaker is Minnijean Brown-Trickey who as a teen-ager was one of the Little Rock Nine, the group of African American students who integrated Little Rock High School in 1957.

Dinner tickets, available through Jan. 14, are $15 for IUPUI undergraduate students and $35 for IUPUI staff, faculty, graduate students and the general public. To purchase tickets, call (317) 274-3931.

Last year more than 100 students, staff, faculty and community members participated in the "Day-On" volunteer projects at nine community centers. Those who wish to sign up for this year's volunteer activities, should call Lorrie Brown at (317) 274-5198.

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