MLK Day of Service

MLK Day of Service at Lehigh University

The Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service is a day each year when individuals across the country perform acts of service to make communities more equitable and take action to create the Beloved Community of Dr. King’s dream.

In accordance with Lehigh University's commitment to inclusion & belonging, and in alignment with our Principles of our Equitable Community, the MLK Day of Service has been designated as an official university-sponsored program.   The federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday is on Monday January 20, which is  also the first day of classes for the Spring semester. To minimize disruption to the schedule, we will be recognizing the Day of Service early on Friday January 16, 2026.  Please submit opportunities via this form.

Opportunities:

Volunteer Locally:

• Make Bracelets for Lehigh Valley Parents: Do you like making bracelets? Do you enjoy crafting? Do you want to provide a token of strength to local new parents? Then join us! The Gender, Leadership, and Empowerment Center has been working with the St. Luke's Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) for over a decade, and one connection is gaining momentum: making bracelets for clients supported by the NFP. People can join us in making bracelets on Friday, January 16 from 10 AM to 4 PM in the GLE Lounge (Clayton UC Suite 328) or they can stop in earlier in the week to make one or two during their lunchbreaks. We will have bracelet-making supplies and guidance on words of support to include in the bracelet, using letters.If you would like to make bracelets on your own time and drop them off, please contact Rita Jones for ideas about the words in the bracelets and to coordinate a drop-off time.
• Fountain Hill Food Pantry: Join the Housing/Conference Services teams at the Fountain Hill Food Pantry the morning of January 16 stocking shelves, cleaning up and organizing this important community resource!  Email David Joseph to express your interest and get more details. (In proud collaboration with the Lehigh Community Service Office
• Join Lehigh's Community Service Office in our community schools assisting with projects around the building! Shifts are available at Donegan from 10 AM to 12 PM or Broughal from 1-3 PM.  Contact Carolina Hernandez to sign up!
• Purchase Food Pantry Wishlist Items: Can't make it to the Fountain Hill pantry in person?  This curated list of requested items is easy to access and goes directly to the pantry.
• Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley: search for local opportunities to connect on MLK Day and beyond

Personal/Professional Development:

• LinkedIn Learning Courses  (A LinkedIn Learning account is required. Instructions to activate are here.)

   

Events on 1/19/2026:

• Moravian University Center for Inclusive Excellence's 3rd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Lunch, 12:15-2:00 PM, Bahnson Center, Saal (60 W Locust St, Bethlehem PA 18018).  Tickets available for purchase here on a first come, first served basis. The lunch features the theme “American Patriotism: Faith and Freedom from Truth to King,” a keynote exploring how Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Martin Luther King Jr. embodied the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution through lives that defined faith, freedom, and justice as the truest forms of American patriotism.

Events on 1/23/2026:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee Annual MLK Breakfast, 9:00-10:30 AM. Space is limited; an invitation with registration information was sent on 12/17/25 (Subject 2026 MLK Day Community Breakfast)

National Projects and Information:

• Youth Service America

• The King Center

   

Thank you to all who joined the Day of Service in 2025. A sampling of photos is below.