(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen John Sarbanes, Jamie Raskin, and David Trone (all D-Md.) announce the recent award of $50,000 for Montgomery County’s Volunteer Center through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency responsible for volunteering and service programs. The grant will support the Volunteer Center, which is a part of the County’s Office of Community Partnerships, in engaging 3,000 volunteers on next year’s MLK Day of Service. Projects will include packaging food, assembling toiletry kits, donating blood, and creating items that will benefit those in need at multiple locations throughout the County. More information for individuals interested in volunteering will be available on the Volunteer Center’s website.

“Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. embodied the best of American values. Today, his memory inspires us to work collectively toward his dream of a more just and equitable world,” said the members. “Through the efforts of the Montgomery County Volunteer Center, these federal funds will create opportunities for residents to be involved in his legacy of service on this day and inspire increased community service year-round.”  

In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday as a national day of service and charged CNCS with leading the effort. Each year, thousands of Americans of all ages and backgrounds observe the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service as a “day on, not a day off.” MLK Day of Service is intended to empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, create solutions to social problems, and move us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community.”

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