NEW ORLEANS – City Year New Orleans, the local arm of a national service program that employs young adults in community service, has created a pandemic-friendly way for volunteers to offer their help to the community on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“This pandemic has been an incredible challenge for everyone, but this MLK Day of Service is an example of how we can still come together as a community,” says Arielle McConduit, executive director and vice president of City Year New Orleans. “As we’ve said for many years, this is a day on, not a day off, and thanks to our partners – including Teach for America, City Park, the New Orleans City Council, AmeriCorps and the NORD Commission – the end result will be no different than in years past.”
In order to follow city guidelines, City Year has created volunteer bags that include gloves, masks, a list of areas for cleanup, coupons for six different local restaurants, and social media instructions so people can share their successes. The nonprofit has already signed up more than 300 people to join in the cause.
“When I started at City Year, I have to admit that I was a little intimidated,” says volunteer Samantha Richard. “But since then I’ve seen that I can make a difference, and for me that really gets to what Martin Luther King Jr. said about service. ‘Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve.’”
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