Sonoma County's four-day celebration of the life and ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King features leadership by the AmeriCorps program of the Sonoma State University Service Collaborative. Over three hundred AmeriCorps members have been preparing for the events that will take place Jan. 17-20. AmeriCorps is partnering with the Sonoma County Library and with Community Baptist Church in Santa Rosa.
On Friday, Jan. 17, a poetry reading by children and youth will be held from 6-9:30 p.m. in the Forum Room of the Santa Rosa Public Library. The children of the Project SCHOLARS reading program and the COOL SCHOOL after school mentoring program will give voice to poems, dreams, and raps for family and friends.
The children, assisted by their AmeriCorps mentors and tutors, will perform from 6 -8 p.m. At 8p.m., the program will continue with open mike by the Youth Volunteer Corps of the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County. Sonoma State University Service Collaborative and the Sonoma County Library are partnering to host the program.
On Saturday, Jan. 18, an adult poetry reading/ music hootenanny will be held from 8-10 p.m. at Epiphany Music Store, Santa Rosa. Inspired by the life and ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., local poets and musicians will sing out and speak out. Epiphany Music Store is located at 640 4th Street, Santa Rosa. The reading is co-hosted by the AmeriCorps Student Leaders program at Sonoma State University and will feature talented AmeriCorps members.
Sunday, Jan. 19, marks the official Birthday Celebration held from 4-9 p.m. at the Luther Burbank Center, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. AmeriCorps members and staff serve on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration Committee, which plans the event. Speeches, choirs, children's presentation, and orations by the winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratory Contest highlight the main stage.
Tabling in the lobby presents information on community issues and displays of children's art illustrating the life and message of Dr. King. AmeriCorps members will assist in the children's room with activities and stories, and lead the children to the stage for the concluding "Happy Birthday" song.
On Monday, Jan. 20, the "Day ON, Not a Day Off" at Community Baptist Church, 1620 Sonoma Avenue, Santa Rosa, will set the example for service on Dr. King's birthday. Some 400 volunteers are expected from 10 a.m. -4 p.m.. Activities inside the church include community awareness presentations and children's carnival. Activities outside the church include two AmeriCorps-led projects of processing books from a massive book drive and assembling wooden stools and bookcases for children's literacy centers. All are welcome. Donors can drop books off at the Bookmobile on the day of the event.
