Honoring MLK: A Day of Service

"My New Year's resolution was to volunteer at least once a month" said delivery room nurse Edna Glassman-Lackow, of Mahopac, as she used blue tape to mask off window frames in the Health and Wellness Center at Green Chimneys Clearpool Campus in Carmel.

Glassman-Lackow was among a half-dozen volunteers who worked Saturday with staff members volunteering to paint the inside of the building as part of The Volunteer Center of United Way's second annual Day of Service honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Nearly 30 sites across the region conducted volunteer projects. At The Sharing Shelf, 20 volunteers helped sort through donated new and gently-used children's clothing by size, season and gender at their new location in Port Chester.

The volunteer organization is a program of the Family Services of Westchester according to executive director Deborah Blatt, and distributes the clothing through 20 social service agencies.

"It's amazing to have kids here with their parents volunteering," Blatt said. "Just to see them engaged and giving is terriffic." She also requested anyone who could donate winter clothing in sizes 4T-6 to please do so as there was an immediate need for those sizes.

Across the Hudson River in Nyack, a handful of volunteers weeded out a rooftop garden and helped to shred papers at Creative Response to Conflict, before sitting down for a discussion on Dr. King's work and experiences.

The Volunteer Center hoped that 250 people would volunteer for the various family-friendly projects which could be completed with just a few hours of donated time and effort.

Further information about the organization can be found at www.volunteer-center.org