01/08/2010
Cortland County residents and organizations are encouraged to participate in the Second Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service scheduled for Monday, Jan. 18.
The daylong event, commemorating the ideals and the civic spirit of the late civil rights leader, is sponsored by the SUNY Cortland Institute for Civic Engagement, the YWCA of Cortland, Habitat for Humanity and Northwoods Rehabilitation and Extended Care Center.
From 9-11:30 a.m., participants may assist Habitat for Humanity on a local project or volunteer at Northwoods Rehabilitation and Extended Care Center. Beginning at 11:45 a.m., a free soup and bread luncheon takes places at the YWCA of Cortland, 14 Clayton Ave.
At 12:20 p.m., Marsha Weissman from Syracuse’s Community Alternatives to Incarceration will speak about the disproportionate number of people of color housed in the prison system. Her talk will be followed by a question-and-answer period.
The Institute for Civic Engagement will host a Community Conversation at 3 p.m. at Main Street SUNY Cortland, 9 Main St. The open discussion will feature representatives from various organizations as well as individual community members concerned with issues of social justice. Guests will discuss plans for realizing social justice in Cortland County in 2010 by focusing on a number of questions. Who in Cortland County is a target for prejudice? Whose civil rights are being denied? Who is already being aided in their struggle and who is being neglected?
Concurrently at 3 p.m. in the same building, families are encouraged to bring their children to participate in an educational artistic activity led by SUNY Cortland professors Sheila Cohen and Chad Hovey. The artworks produced during the event will be on display within the Main Street SUNY Cortland building’s Beard Gallery through the end of the month.
To volunteer, attend or for more information on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, please contact Stephanie Plude, community outreach coordinator for the Institute for Civic Engagement and Cortland Downtown Partnership, at (607) 753-4270, by e-mail at stephanie.plude@cortland.edu or by stopping into the Main Street SUNY Cortland office. For the complete schedule or to RSVP, participants may join the center’s Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cortland-NY/SUNY-Cortland-Institute-for-Civic-Engagement.