Marietta College Awarded Federal Grant for MLK Day of Service Project

by Chris Rynd

Marietta, Ohio (07/09/2020) — Vice President for Advancement Dr. Josh Jacobs is proud to announce that Marietta College has been awarded a grant of $15,545 by the Corporation for National Community Service (CNCS) - the U.S. federal agency for volunteering and service - for the 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Project.

Observed each year on the third Monday in January as "a day on, not a day off," MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. Charged by Congress to lead this effort for the last quarter century, the CNCS supported Marietta's MLK Day of Service for the first time last year.

Marietta College's 2020 celebration had 525 participants officially sign in, including approximately 420 students, 65 faculty and staff, and 40 community members - an increase from 400 volunteers for the inaugural program in 2019.

Groups volunteered on- and off-campus to support service projects for 16 non-profit organizations, including GoPacks, EVE, Inc. Domestic Violence Center, Boys and Girls Club of Washington County, Humane Society of the Ohio Valley, Friends of the Lower Muskingum River, The Trading Post - Ohio Wilderness Boys Camp Thrift Shop, Marietta Community Food Pantry, Gospel Mission Food Pantry, People's Bank Theatre, Marietta Toy and Doll Museum, Betsy Mills Club, Marietta in Bloom, Marietta Main Street, Operation Gratitude, Love for the Elderly, and Amnesty International.

The many service activities were framed by a breakfast program reflecting on the legacy of Dr. King, and followed by lunch-and-learn workshops led by faculty volunteers that focused on contemporary and continuing work for justice.

Sponsored in partnership by Marietta College's Office of Civic Engagement and Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the third annual MLK Day of Service will take place on January 18, 2021. The continuation funding by the CNCS will enable more students, faculty and staff members to unite with members of the community in volunteer service in celebration of Dr. King's vision.

To learn more about diversity and inclusion at Marietta College, please contact the Associate Dean of Students and Chief Diversity Officer Monica Jones at (740) 376-4737 or msj001@marietta.edu.

To learn more about the College's civic engagement efforts, please contact the Director of Civic Engagement Maribeth Saleem-Tanner at (740) 376-4561 or ms010@marietta.edu.

Located in Marietta, Ohio, at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers, Marietta College is a four-year liberal arts college. Tracing its roots to the Muskingum Academy back in 1797, the College was officially chartered in 1835. Today Marietta College serves a body of 1,200 full-time students. The College offers more than 50 majors and is consistently ranked as one of the top regional comprehensive colleges by U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, as well as one of the nation's best by Forbes.com. Marietta was selected seventh in the nation according to the Brookings Institution's rankings of colleges by their highest value-added, regardless of major. Marietta College has also been named a Great College to Work For two consecutive years (2018 and 2019).

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