FBCG Hosts Massive Community Service Projects for MLK Day

By Micha Green and Hamil Harris
Special to the AFRO

In a colossal service project that involved more than 1,500 volunteers, First Baptist Church of Glenarden (FBCG) Family Life Center hosted its second annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at several locations.

First Baptist Church of Glendarden Pastor Rev. John K. Jenkins and First Lady Trina Jenkins have been leading an army of compassion for years and Monday’s Day of Service was no exception, as more than 2,000 people were involved in a number of service projects.

“This is what we do all the time, but on days like this we put things on steroids,” said Pastor Jenkins, who welcomed Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to the Family Life Center, where she and others made blankets as a service project. 

Throughout the D.M.V. leaders and volunteers associated with FBCG and local politics and organizations, came out to celebrate the “day on,” created to commemorate Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

While most schools, offices and federal and government buildings are closed in honor of the holiday for Dr. King, leaders encourage people to take the “day on,” versus the normal “day off,” by giving back and community service in the name of the Civil Rights icon.

The church’s annual celebration aligns with the national observance for the “MLK Day of Service.” January 20, 2020 marked the 25th anniversary of the “MLK Day of Service,” which the Corporation for National and Community Service has spearheaded for the last quarter century.

“Observed each year on the third Monday in January as ‘a day on, not a day off,’ MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities,” the Corporation for National and Community Service explained on its website.

Partner organizations included Convoy of Hope, the Washington Hebrew Congregation, Central Union and 13 Prince George’s County Schools.

Service projects including cleaning, painting, landscaping, beautification projects, writing letters of kindness, creating blankets, assembly baby care kits and flood buckets for natural disaster relief.