Students Give To Charities To Honor Martin Luther King

The city of Bloomington will add a new educational component to its Martin Luther King Day celebration.

The educational component asks all Monroe County students to make a “peace pledge,” modeling themselves after Dr. King. The pledge will go toward local charities.

Bloomington’s Martin Luther King Commission has been in existence for 20 years, and Service Projects Coordinator Craig Brenner says a significant amount of money is donated to local charities each January.

“This year we are giving out more than $33,000 in grants,” he says. “All of that money was donated to the city, by the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County and by service for peace.”

Safe and Civil City Director Beverly Calender-Anderson notes this year more than 60 service projects and an anticipated 4,000 volunteers will participate in the city’s festivities.