News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A Fifth Annual Day Of Service among the events on the Tennessee Tech campus Monday in celebration of MLK Day.
Director of Intercultural Affairs Charria Campbell said groups of students will go shopping and stock the main food pantry on campus. Campbell said she discussed a variety of possible events with students for the holiday.
“The different service and community and volunteer opportunities and philanthropy that was being kind of shared with us, how do those relate to his principles?” Campbell said. “And we were like, ‘Well, this is something that relates in so many ways.’ Just so we’re not dealing with the principles that Dr. King talked about. And one being that community building and giving back to the communities in different ways.”
Campbell said the Second Annual Candlelight Vigil Monday night gives people the chance to reflect on the importance of his work. She said that event will feature multiple speakers as well as the United Voices of Praise, Tennessee Tech’s gospel choir.
“So two events that kind of really, one: speaks to his legacy in action through us doing the restocking, the shopping, and just kind of help reorganizing and cleaning the food pantry on Monday, but we will also do the library pantry on Friday morning,” Campbell said. “And then that evening on Monday, being able to just let people speak and voice in their own way what he meant to them.”
Campbell said there will be a second Day of Service for the auxiliary pantry in the campus library on Friday. Campbell said the Day of Service gives students living on campus an easy way to volunteer and give back to their local community.
“It’s like, again like I said, a spot, a place on this campus that we can give back pretty much anytime during the year but it’s also giving back in so many ways to our students,” Campbell said.
Campbell said she hopes the events inspire people in the community to learn more about Dr. King and what he stood for.
“I hope that one: that they see that this is a positive event and this is a way for us at Tennessee Tech, hopefully Cookeville community, to know that, you know, his legacy is alive and well,” Campbell said. “And then maybe researching, you know, why are we doing certain events?”
Campbell said the Day of Service event was created in 2020 by the late Michelle Huddleston who ran the food shelter on campus.
