Post submitted by Daniel Ball and Harry Hawkins with contributions from De'aris Rhymes and Kelsey Stone

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” –Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

HRC staff, members and support look forward to MLK Day of Service every year. We reflect on the leadership, the legacy, and most of all the service that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent most of his life giving to communities all across America.

Once again, HRC Mississippi teamed up with the United Way of the Capital Area to collect travel sized toiletries such as soaps, shampoos and dental hygiene products for area homeless youth. These products are basic necessities for living and providing this type of support is an important cause.

This annual project provides us with the chance to work with allies and other groups in the community who are also striving to ensure that all people are able to live in a comfortable, fair, and inclusive environment. We are honored each year to have even more volunteers to ensure the success of this community service project.

This year, HRC Mississippi partnered with Millsaps College, Jackson State University, the Nu Beta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. at Tougaloo College, and the Lambda Beta chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. at Jackson State University gathered at HRC Mississippi’s office in Jackson.

Together, we unpacked toiletries, sorted them and made personal goody bags filled with necessary toiletries for homeless youth in the community. People of all races, religious backgrounds, sexual orientations, and genders gathered together with one ultimate goal: service to all mankind.

Later that evening, HRC staff and volunteers attended the annual MLK Day Service of Remembrance program at Millsaps College. The MLK service helped us collectively renew our strength to face the present challenges of our nation and our world. I particularly thought of HRC’s work in connection to the closing lines:

“When we don’t have the energy to take another step on our fight for justice, or we fear a loss of hope, ‘We wait. We watch. We listen.’”

Learn more about HRC’s work at HRC.org/Mississippi.