COLUMBIA, S.C. —

Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and several events are planned across the Upstate and western North Carolina to honor his memory.

Spartanburg MLK Unity Week

Day of Service
Monday, January 21 at 8 a.m.
C.C. Woodson Community Center (210 Bomar Ave.)
register online at: www.connect2mycommunity.org

Unity Celebration
Monday, January 21 at 6:30 p.m.
Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium

All events are free and open to the public.

Greenville Dreams in Action Day

The Dreams in Action Day, a free event open to the public and held at Greenville High School from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. This event will feature “One Voice” with JDew, presented by MICHELIN. One Voice” is an exceptional narrative highlighting orations from some of America’s most influential black leaders. “One Voice” is a fascinating journey through the black American experience, by virtue of eight powerful and influential voices spanning from the 1820s to present day including: Martin Luther King, Jr., Muhammad Ali, Bill Cosby, and Barack Obama. 

MLK Dream Weekend is an organization of civic and business leaders committed to the cause of Dr. King and the citizens of Greenville County. Initiated in 2006 to establish an annual community-wide celebration of the MLK Holiday for the Greenville, South Carolina area, MLK Dream Weekend is based on Dr. King’s dreams of diversity with equality and peace. For more information, please visit www.mlkdreamweekend.com.

Greenville Tech Projects

Greenville Tech students, faculty and staff will complete four different projects to celebrate Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 21. The event will be held in the Student Center (Building 105, Barton Campus) beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending by 12:30 p.m.

Volunteers will
–make sandwiches for sack lunches distributed by Salvation Army –create cards for veterans and hospitalized children –assemble hygiene kits for nursing home residents –create a piece of artwork depicting unity that will be displayed in the Student Center.

Greenville Civic Groups Give Back

As a way to honor the late Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy, several civic groups will step forward to give back to the community Friday and Monday by helping Meals on Wheels of Greenville deliver hot, nutritious meals to the homebound in the area.

Students from Riverside High School’s National Honors Society will drive 11 routes for the organization on Friday. They will help out again on Monday by driving three routes, while others from Berea High School and volunteers from Hands on Greenville are to drive another half dozen routes between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Jan Dewar, volunteer manager at Meals on Wheels, says that groups like these are a huge help to the organization. “Meals on Wheels is always in need of volunteers to cover routes and when groups like these step forward, they are welcomed with open arms,” she says.

In 1994, the federal government passed legislation calling the Martin Luther King holiday to be observed with acts of volunteerism and since then civic groups and other individuals choose charities like Meals on Wheels, who relies on volunteers five days a week, to help.

About Meals on Wheels: Meals on Wheels enhances the quality of life of homebound individuals by providing nutritious meals, personal contact and related services. Each day, caring volunteers serve more than 1,400 hot, nutritious meals to homebound individuals throughout Greenville County, including Fountain Inn, Fork Shoals, Simpsonville, Mauldin, Travelers Rest and Piedmont. Started in 1968, Meals on Wheels has been delivering more than a meal. Volunteers provide the human touch that means so much. For more information call 864-233-6565 or go to www.MealsonWheelsgreenville.org.

MLK Day Celebration Luncheon- Greer

Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Allen Smith will be the keynote speaker when Greer Memorial Hospital presents the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Luncheon on January 21.

Enjoy lunch in the Events Center at Greer City Hall beginning at 11:30 a.m. and honor the life of Dr. King through words, dance, song, and multimedia presentations, as well as recognizing those who strive every day to keep Dr. King’s dream alive in our community. Among the featured performers will be singer Sammy Dotson of the Phyllis Wheatley Center in Greenville.

Smith was selected in 2010 to lead the Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce after serving as senior vice president for the Greenville-Pitt County (N.C.) Chamber of Commerce. The East Carolina University alumnus is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management and has been honored by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives as one of its “Top 40 Under 40.”

Greer City Councilman Wayne Griffin, who organizes the annual luncheon, is asking all guests to bring one or more non-perishable food items to help Greer Relief meet the needs of the hungry in the Greater Greer community

Tickets are $10.00 per person and are available at the City of Greer Parks and Recreation Department located at 446 Pennsylvania Ave.