EUGENE, Ore. -- (Jan. 10, 2011) -- More than 500 University of Oregon students, faculty and staff are expected to join community members in the National Day of Service in remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr., on Monday, Jan. 17.

Initiated by Congress in 1994, the King Day of Service builds on King's legacy by transforming the federal MLK holiday into a national day of community service. Sponsors of the local event encourage community members to make the holiday "a day on, not a day off."

The Day of Service anchors a list of scheduled MLK events and observances in a weeklong "The Strength to Love" program, sponsored by the UO's Office of the Dean of Students. The Day of Service is sponsored locally by the Holden Leadership Center's and the UO College of Education's Service Learning Program in partnership with United Way. It is an all-day event featuring 20 service projects that will honor King's accomplishments.

"The UO is pleased to present our recognition of the legacy of Dr. King as we observe his birthday and pay tribute to his life's work," said Carla Gary, the UO's assistant vice president for institutional equity and a co-chair of the "Strength to Love" program.

"We have brought together a variety of events, including spoken word artists, classroom conversations, the MLK Day of Service and campus workshops on cross-cultural communications," Gary said. "These varied programs celebrate the diversity of people and ideas that is the foundation of our community, and honors the mission of our institution in serving all Oregonians and our nation."

The "Strength to Love" schedule includes spoken word performances by youth artists from New York City, sponsored by the UO's MLK Jr. Celebration Committee and presented at noon Tuesday, Jan. 18, at the EMU Amphitheater; the Black Student Union's Candlelight Vigil and Open Meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19, at the EMU Amphitheater; and the MLK Jr. Awards Ceremony, sponsored by the UO's Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, in Gerlinger Lounge. A full list of a dozen local "Strength to Love" events is available online at http://Uodos.uoregon.edu/mlk.aspx.

The Day of Service projects are open to UO students, faculty and staff, and any community member wishing to serve and to honor the civil rights leader. To register, visit http://serve.uoregon.edu.

Each project includes a tour of the community organization, a service activity and a short reflection. The service projects include working with Habitat for Humanity to perform yard work for neighborhood residents, supporting and befriending children born with Down Syndrome while bowling at Strike Zone, and painting and cleaning at St. Vincent DePaul's retail store.

According to organizers, the aim is to make the holiday a day "on," when people of all ages and backgrounds come together to improve lives and bridge social barriers as King envisioned.

Contact: Julie Brown, UO media relations, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu

Source: Sinclair Ceasar III, community relations coordinator, 541-346-4351, sceasar@uoregon.edu.

Links: Service Learning Program, http://serve.uoregon.edu/programs/mlk; UO events schedule, http://Uodos.uoregon.edu/mlk.aspx