Contact Info
Past Feature Story Links
Site Feedback
Feature Story
FHS Students Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. with Day of Service
Each year, Americans across the country come together to celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. by serving their neighbors and communities. The MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service.
On January 17th, the 25th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday, several Fayetteville High School students celebrated this anniversary and honored Dr. King’s legacy of service by participating in a project organized by the Arkansas Energy Corps at Willow Bend affordable housing site in South Fayetteville.
Students met with other community members early Monday morning at the Willow Bend site located on Washington Avenue just south of 15th Street to remove trash and trim and clear weeds, trees, and brush from the site. Over the next two years, the seven and a half acre forested lot will be transformed into 40-45 sustainably built, energy efficient affordable homes.
Dana Smith, Fayetteville School District Arkansas Energy Corps member, was pleased to see the group of twenty students at the service day. “It is really wonderful to see students committed to giving back to the Fayetteville community through direct service in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. They were a tremendous part of making the day a huge success,” Smith said.
Students from high school teacher Connie Crisp’s service learning class as well as Boys and Girls club student volunteers worked alongside community members from the following organizations: Partners for Better Housing, Arkansas Energy Corps, The Home Depot, Apple Seeds Inc., the National Center for Appropriate Technology, and City of Fayetteville employees.
"Us coming together, being from different backgrounds, but coming together and helping others, that's what today is about," FHS student Cashay Parker said of the MLK Day experience.
The approximately 50 volunteers were able to clear brush from several acres to enable a more accurate survey of the site in the near future - one of the first steps in the development process.
“We are clearing this area for people to have affordable homes which will benefit them and their families in the future and the long run of this city,” said Mayor Lioneld Jordan in KNWA’s interview at the site as he worked alongside the high school students and other volunteers.
For more information about the Willow Bend Project, please visit: http://www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/view/page.basic/blog/feature.blog/fayetteville_ar
For more information about Arkansas Energy Corps, please visit:
http://www.energycorps.org/arkansas/