Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
January 16, 2012
Become Great: Serve

Make the MLK holiday a day on, not a day off. Serve with the GPC community at one of the service projects listed below. Kick-off rallies will take place at 7:30 a.m. at the Clarkston, Dunwoody, and Newton campuses. Free breakfast and t-shirts will be available at the kick-off rallies. Transportation will be available from the kick-off rally listed in the project description. All participants are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to the kick-off rally to support local food pantries. The deadline to register for a service project is January 12.

Service Projects

Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve - register

Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve's mission is to protect and educate about Arabia Mountain's rich ecological, historical, and cultural resources. Volunteers will assist with removing litter, glass, and plastic from the top of Arabia Mountain, home to several endangered plant species. The experience will include a scenic 1 mile hike to the mountain.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston and Newton

AWARE Wildlife Center - register

AWARE's mission is to preserve Georgia's native wildlife through rehabilitation and education. Volunteers will clean-up and reorganize the rescue facility and assist with the development and renovation of cages and other habitat for wild animals.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston and Newton

City of Dunwoody Public Works Department - FULL

The City of Dunwoody Public Works Department is responsible for the management, development, safety, and maintenance of the City's roadways, parks, and storm water systems. Volunteers will affix medallions to storm drains indicating that the drains empty directly into streams.

Kick-off Rally: Dunwoody

Clarkston Community Center - register

Clarkston Community Center is a place for arts, education, recreation, and community building across all cultures. Volunteers will take part in several projects in Clarkston, including a community clean-up, passing out recycling information, cleaning up the food bank, packaging rice for refugees, and cleaning the Clarkston Community Center.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston and Dunwoody (note: participants will walk from the Clarkston rally)

DeKalb Academy of Technology and Environment - register

The mission of DeKalb Academy of Technology and Environment is to educate a student population about the essential need to consider environmental ramifications of technology and other business decisions via a hands-on, community-oriented instructional curriculum. GPC volunteers will work with students from DATE to install a community garden on the DATE campus.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston

Flat Rock Archive - FULL

The Flat Rock Archive is a community Archive and Museum that opened in December 2007. The Archive maintains a slave cemetery and collects pictures and records of all families. The Archive is housed in the T. A. Bryant, Sr. (born 1894) house built in 1917. He was the great great grandfather of actor Chris Tucker. Volunteers will remove grape vines growing throughout the slave cemetery maintained by Flat Rock Archive. Volunteers will also repair broken grave markers.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston and Newton

Hands On Newton - register

Hands On Newton helps people of all ages match their talents and interests with community based organizations that need help to achieve their goals. Volunteers will work to prepare a community garden for spring planting. Activities include preparing planting beds, leading children's activities, and mulching. No garden experience necessary.

Kick-off Rally: Newton

Lyons Farm (Wonderland Gardens) - FULL

Wonderland Gardens is committed to stewardship of the Earth through programs that actively promote organic gardening, green education, recycling, and healthy living in communion with nature. Volunteers will remove underbrush from the entrance to the garden and remove small trees from the woodland area.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston and Newton

On-Campus Projects - register

A Million Thanks is a year-round campaign to show our appreciation for our U.S. Military Men and Women, past and present, for their sacrifices, dedication, and service to our country through our letters, emails, cards, and prayers. Since 1984, the Foundation for Hospital Art has been dedicated to softening the hospital environment with colorful paintings, wall murals, and ceiling tiles. Participants paint pre-drawn, color-coded designs at PaintFest events held in a variety of settings around the world. The artwork is touched up and then donated to needy hospitals on behalf of the sponsors. Volunteers will have the opportunity to write letters to members of the US military or paint murals that will be donated to a hospital.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston, Dunwoody, Newton

Panola State Park - register

This unique park near Atlanta protects a 100-acre granite monadnock (mountain) similar to Stone Mountain and Arabia Mountain. Minimally developed, the mountain shelters rare plants of the Piedmont region. During autumn, it is blanketed with colorful Yellow Daisies, while from late winter to early spring, the tiny red Diamorpha showcases its white blooms. Hikers may explore the park’s watershed and granite outcrop on their own, or they may make reservations to join park rangers for guided hikes onto the restricted-access mountain. Volunteers will perform trail maintenance in the park. All tools will be provided, but volunteers are encouraged to bring gloves.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston and Newton

Special Equestrians of Georgia - FULL

The mission of Special Equestrians of Georgia is to provide a nurturing therapeutic environment to help individuals facing physical, emotional, and mental challenges through equine assisted activities. Volunteers will work on various farm improvement projects, including fencing, painting, horse care, working in the barn, and improvements to the barn.

Kick-off Rally: Dunwoody

Stone Mountain Memorial Association - register

The mission of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association is to sustain, enhance, and protect Stone Mountain Park, its facilities, and its environs. Volunteers will remove non-native invasive plant species in order to improve the habitat for plants and animals while also protecting Georgia's natural heritage.

Kick-off Rally: Clarkston