This Monday, January 15, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the St. George’s community is prepared to join together to revive an old tradition: the MLK day of service.

Since as early as 2007, the SGIS Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, better known as MLK Day ON (named to distinguish it from other days “off”), has been a huge success and opportunity for our community.

But like so many traditions, as COVID-19 approached in 2020 this annual event came to a halt.

“The last MLK [service] day that we had was in January of 2020,” said Ms. Ashley Lott, upper school geometry teacher, 9th grade team leader and sponsor of the Gryphs Serve club, which is hosting the MLK Day ON event at the Collierville campus.

This year will be the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began that our school will participate in this special day.

MLK Day ON offers the entire St. George’s community the chance to gather together and participate in an array of activities, each focusing on a different issue.

This year’s offerings consist of various activities, from outdoor options such as trailblazing and cleaning up the Wolf River Beach to projects in support of various local organizations, such as Room in the Inn, the Dorothy Day House, Sister Supply and 901 Community Fridges.

Junior Kerrigan Jackson, a member of Gryphs Serve, revealed that this year’s options are new compared to past years. She is especially excited for a specific new event surrounding the nonprofit organization Sister Supply, a group that offers free menstrual products and assistance to those in need.

Junior Mary Frances Forbes shared Jackson’s excitement about volunteering with Sister Supply.

Forbes expressed her concern on the issue and explained that over the summer she had attended a seminar about period poverty, which is the lack of access to safe and hygienic menstrual products and the education to use them properly.

“I didn’t even really know about or consider the fact that was an issue for a lot of homeless and impoverished women,” she admitted.

Sister Supply’s goal is directed towards this exact point made by Forbes. They aim to educate and inform people so that they can recognize the issue and understand how to help others.

“[Sister Supply’s] mission is to eradicate period poverty, but also to take the stigma away from, you know, when we say the word ‘period’ out loud, for example,” Ms. Lott added.

Ms. Lott also explained the efforts of other organizations, such as the 901 Community Fridges program, which offers accessible food for those in need. They have set up three refrigerators in Memphis that are open to the public for those less fortunate are able to take food from and for others to stop by and place food inside.

Other volunteers will have the chance to participate by creating arts and crafts that will be used to decorate by the Dorothy Day House and Room in the Inn, which provide shelter for families and individuals that are experiencing homelessness.

”It’s important to give back and not always think about yourself,” Jackson explained as she shared her feelings on giving back to the community not only on this day, but whenever possible.

“MLK is all about the day of service. So instead of just spending all day at home, I decided to give back,” she said.

Dr. King was a blessing to our nation and it is the least we can do to offer our service for one day in honor of him and his love for our city.

“He gave back to us, so we should honor him by giving back as well,” Ms. Lott said.

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For more information about Monday’s MLK Day ON service event at the Collierville Campus and to sign up to participate, click here.

For further information about the service organizations, click one of the links below:
Sister Supply
Dorothy Day House
Room in the Inn
901 Community Fridges