Service: The best way to remember Dr. King

Here are just 13 words that sum up the underlying mission of Martin Luther King:

“Life’s most persistent and urg ent question is, ‘what are you doing for others?’”

Groups around the country are focusing on these words of King in the MLK Day of Service, a part of United We Serve, the President’s national call to service initiative. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems. In 2014, citizens in all 50 states delivered meals, refurbished schools and community centers, and collected food and clothing. Volunteers also recruited mentors, supported job-seekers, built homes and provided other services for veterans and military families, and helped citizens improve their financial literacy skills.

To learn more, go to nationalservice.gov, and register your project or idea, track what others are doing, and learn about more resources on the subject.

What are you doing as an individual or group, as part of the organized Day of Service, or on your own? Share it with readers by sending a short description — attach a photo if you’d like — to hrnews@hoodrivernews.com.

If you want to reach out at this time, or any other, to groups that are striving to deal with problems of literacy, hunger, aging, and domestic violence, our “How to Help” feature, running on this page, is a place to start.

King himself put a major emphasis on mentoring — caring adults spending time and giving their talents to young people — and numerous such programs are available and in need of volunteers. They include foster parenting and Big Brother/Big Sister programs through The Next Door, Inc., Aspire at HRVHS, reading and math assistance at any school, Start Making A Reader Today, and more.

The question is “persistent and urgent” because the needs are. Whether in memory of Dr. King or for the future of a young person, reach out and lend a hand. The giver is usually the greatest recipient.