ICAR Serves on MLK Day: A "Day On" at Ron Brown Middle School
On January 18th, Martin Luther King Day, the ICAR community joined City Year in honoring Dr. King’s legacy by making the day “a day ON, not a day off.” City Year, an organization of full time service leaders, hosted a high-impact service project at Ron Brown Middle School in Washington D.C. City Year, along with their City Young Heroes, dedicates themselves to year round service and service projects. Martin Luther King Day is their alumni event in which they invite City Year alumni and other community members and friends to join them in their mission of serving the community.
There was a great response and turnout from the ICAR community, as students and alumni, along with faculty and staff, from both the undergraduate and graduate programs, came together to represent ICAR and George Mason University in a day of service.
The day began with an opening ceremony where ICAR volunteers joined City year in their motivational warm up activities to prepare for a full day of service. Hundreds of community volunteers were warmly welcomed by City Year and City Year alumni. The service project was a beautification of Ron Brown Middle School in Washington D.C. After the opening ceremony, volunteers were divided into groups to join team leaders in working on many different parts of the middle school.
Ron Brown Middle School was teeming with energy as volunteers from around the D.C. metropolitan area worked on various beautification and small construction projects throughout the day. Volunteers worked on projects such as landscaping, organizing the library, and paint- ing inspirational quotes and murals throughout the school. By the end of the day, many of the school’s walls were lined with bright paintings of rockets, the school’s mascot. Many of the classrooms were also filled with inspirational quotes and murals to brighten the learning environment. City Year corps members worked hard to ensure that all the volunteers were able to participate and contribute to the projects.
City Year’s Martin Luther King Day service project, was incorporated as part of the larger vision of ICAR Serves, which is being spear- headed by the Undergraduate program. The events of the day provided an opportunity for ICAR to get involved and contribute to the D.C. community, as well as a chance to strengthen associations within the ICAR community as students, faculty, staff, alumni, and family members worked side by side. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of the day.