Office of Service-Learning

The BGSU MLK Jr. Day of Service Challenge is an annual community service event open to all students, faculty, and staff at BGSU. It is a collaborative effort between the Civic Action Now student organization and the Office of Service‐Learning. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., volunteers serve on the MLK Day holiday to make it “a day on, not a day off”. Participants are involved in various community service activities such as making blankets to donate to shelters, painting, working with residents of care facilities, building boardwalks, and more.

What is the service challenge?

Registered volunteers will work as a team to accomplish a community service “challenge” at a local non-profit agency. The team challenges will remain a mystery until the day of the event, and each team will be required to utilize their unique talents and skills to complete the challenge. This is a great way to apply your problem-solving skills, meet new people, and contribute to the Bowling Green community.

Who can serve?

Students, faculty, alumni, and staff are all encouraged to participate. You may volunteer as an individual and be assigned to a team OR your organization may sign up and complete a challenge as a team. Each member of a team must register.

Get Involved!

Food Bank Items Needed: click here for complete list!

Stay Connected!
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facebook.com/BGSUServiceLearning
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Frequently Asked Questions

1. When is the event taking place?
The event takes place every third Monday of January on the federal Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We may have a day off of school, but we encourage participants to make it “a day on”. This year it will be held on January 21, 2013.

2. What do I need to bring with me?
We encourage participants to wear layers, closed toed shoes, hat and gloves, scarves, and a smile! We also would advise bringing a bag to hold items in, water bottle, donations, medications, cell phone charger—it will be a long day, so prepare for it!

3. Can I count this as service hours for my organization?
Yes you can!

4. Can I participate in a group?
Yes and we encourage that you sign up as a group with your friends, student organization, classmates, etc. All BGSU students, staff, and faculty are able to participate. You can have up to 8, 16, or 24 people in a group. When registering, make sure you indicate that you are participating in a group and submit your group name.

5. How can I sign up with friends if we are not part of a formal BGSU organization?

People that wish to serve together but are not part of a formal organization should create a group name and have all their members include their group name on their registration. Examples of former team names have been “Team Awesome!” and “Willa Willa Bacon.”

6. What are some examples of places I would go?
Our community partners include local businesses and organization—anywhere that needs help in the Northwest Ohio Community. Past partners have included Way Public Library, the Ronald McDonald House, Food for Thought, Toledo Metro Parks, and Downtown Bowling Green.

7. Can you give me an example of a challenge project?
Collecting books to give to a library in need, building storage space for the Bowling Green History Museum, or painting a room in a nursery are all examples of projects that you may participate in.

8. Will food be provided?
Yes! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided for volunteers and staff.

9. How long is the event?
The event is from 9a.m.-7p.m.

10. Can I leave once my task is over?
This event is an all-day event and does not end when your project is completed. After your project, all teams will meet back in the ballroom for the closing ceremony. This ceremony includes reflection, one of the most important parts of the day as everyone connects their experiences to Dr. King’s legacy.

11. How many people participated last year?
We had 497 people participate in the event.

12. Do we get anything for participating?
Participants will be provided with food, a t-shirt, and receive service hours for volunteering with this event. Each person will have a unique experience; therefore each individual will gain something unique. Be sure to share with us what you learned from participating in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Challenge!

Any more questions?

Contact Sakina Trevathan, Assistant Director in the Office of Service-Learning at:
BGSUPartnerships@bgsu.edu or 419.372.9865

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Pictures and Publicity

Below are some pictures and publicity that our event in 2013 generated:

• Local News WTOL Channel 11
• BGSU sponsored video of 2013 MLK Jr. Day of Service
• Twitter - @MLKCHALLENGE, @MLKDAY with #MLKBGSU and #MLKDAY
  
  

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Outcomes for 2013

Expected Outcomes (based on grant application)

550 volunteers with at least 15% diverse population Involvement
40 community partners
40 service projects
4500 hours of collective service
1000 food items collected and distributed

Achieved Outcomes

676 participants
48 community partners
45 service projects
4600 hours of collective service
1140 (936lbs.) food/hygiene items collected

Impact Data:
Rooms painted for various community partner sites - 19
Facilities cleaned for various community partner sites - 19
Blankets made for children and homeless - 200
Bags decorated for Mobile Meals - 471
Signage designed and created for two sites - 2
Park boardwalks built - 7
8’x6’ sections Items moved at community partner sites - 550+

Gender:
Female (428), Male (214), Transgender (2), Did not disclose (32)

Race/Ethnicity: Total diverse population representation = 26.5 %. However it is likely
that this is higher because of the large amount of participants choosing not to disclose.
Black - 127
Latino/a - 24
Asian - 8
White - 388
Multi-racial - 20
Other - 5
Did not disclose - 104

Participant affiliation:
Undergraduate student - 345
Graduate student -10
Faculty - 6
Staff - 10
Community member - 46
Did not disclose - 259

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Historical Data

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Volunteers	120	350	452	496	676
Service Hours	720	2,100	3,164	4,308	4,600
Service Sites	10	17	39	35	48
Cost	N/A	$6,606.00	$7,815.00	$15,226.00	$17,922.42
Sponsors	N/A	28	37	38	31