COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In the midst of challenging times, volunteers throughout Ohio are showing their commitment to improving their communities.

For the Martin Luther King Day of Service today, hundreds of people are taking part in dozens of projects intended to honor the late civil rights leader.

Rebeccah Verhoff-Kiss, outreach and education officer for the group Serve Ohio said the idea is to make the holiday a "Day On, Not a Day Off."


"Dr. King's legacy around service is just an inspiration," Verhoff-Kiss explained. "And so, he said that anybody can be great because anyone can serve. And he also said that life's most persistent an urgent question is, what are you doing for others?"

Serve Ohio is sponsoring ten organizations, which are enlisting the help of more than 300 people to complete projects in celebration of MLK day. And each project features an education component based on Dr. King's message of peace, unity and service to create long-term, sustainable change.

Verhoff-Kiss said all the projects have safety protocols in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. And some are specifically responding to a few of the needs created by the pandemic.

For example, she noted, volunteers in Athens are building "blessing boxes."

"These are boxes that they're going to put in high-needs areas in Athens that community members can stock with food and other types of items that families might need, to help folks who just need a little bit more to get by between paychecks," Kerr outlined.

Verhoff-Kiss added Ohioans also are encouraged to make a pledge to serve their community throughout the year. Serve Ohio has four different grant opportunities for groups and organizations.

"MLK Day is the first one each year," Verhoff-Kiss clarified. "We also fund the projects for 'Global Youth Service Day,' which happens in April. We have a 'Serve Ohio Day' in June, and we fund projects for 'Make a Difference Day' in October."

Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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Small businesses that suffered damage or destruction from the recent historic flooding in Eastern Kentucky can get one-on-one assistance as they try to get back on their feet.

Seven nonprofits and the Small Business Administration are operating Business Recovery Centers in Hazard, Manchester, and Whitesburg.

Chief Operating Officer of the group Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), Joshua Ball, said running a small business is challenging under normal circumstances - let alone in the aftermath of a disaster.

"The weight of trying to make payroll every two weeks to now having a flood," said Ball, "losing your home, losing all your belongings, losing your business. We just wanted to be there so that we can listen to those impacted and get them the resources."

The centers are located at Hazard Community and Technical College, Eastern Kentucky University - Manchester, and Appalachian Groundswell.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. until August 20. More details are online at 'soar-ky.org.'

Along with assistance from the Small Business Administration and FEMA, local organizations are offering grants, additional loan assistance and business coaching.

Ball said they hope to get money into the hands of business owners so they can begin to rebuild and plan for the future.

"Recovery's just not cleaning up the mud and wiping down the walls," said Ball. "It's going to take some of our communities and some of our businesses months, if not years, to fully recover. And we're thinking about ways to serve them as long as it takes."

Ball said the collaboration is working as efficiently as possible to quickly meet the needs of those directly affected by flooding. He noted that the people of Eastern Kentucky are resilient and will persevere.

"And while it seems like it's dark right now because of loss of lives and businesses, you know, it is tough," said Ball. "But the people of Eastern Kentucky, the people of central Appalachia, we always come together, we always roll our sleeves up, we always bounce back."

A Las Vegas nonprofit helping women recover from substance addiction, domestic violence, human trafficking and homelessness has received AARP's prestigious Purpose Prize for 2023.

The group, called Unshakeable, will also get a $10,000-dollar grant to support its work.

Debbie Isaacs, founder and president of Unshakeable, who was named as a Purpose Prize fellow, said Unshakeable will serve about 100 women this year.

"Our clients, by the time they finish, we hear them make statements of, 'I am capable, I am strong, I am ready. I am confident, I am unstoppable,' " Isaacs noted.

Isaacs explained Unshakeable helps women put their past aside and return to the workforce, with some in so-called "survival jobs" and others back on a career path. The agency provides a series of in-depth workshops designed to reignite clients' confidence and sense of purpose. The Purpose Prize has been honoring people over age 50 who make a real difference in their communities since 2005.

Isaacs pointed out the grant will help many women get back on their feet, some of whom need the most basic essentials.

"$10,000 provides continued help for our programming," Isaacs emphasized. "It can be helping with transportation or child care vouchers, or a set of eyeglasses, or even a bed and a mattress."

AARP said it will celebrate fifteen Purpose Prize winners and fellows from around the country at an awards ceremony in October, in Washington, D.C.

Many rural North Carolina kids lack access to summer camps and consistent meals when school is out, but an organization in Benson is working to change it.

The Four Leaf Clover Program provides free lunches and activities for kids several days a week until the school year starts.

Cleo McKinnon, founder and president of the Four Leaf Clover Program, said she started the program seven years ago with encouragement from her daughter. She explained the Four Leaf Clover also acts an emergency food bank for residents in need.

"We have homeless people that sometimes, on the weekend, food banks and stuff are closed, we provide them food, so they can eat," McKinnon pointed out. "Sometimes people, families, don't have food when their [food] stamps have run out, or whatever the situation."

During the school year, around 900,000 North Carolina children rely on free or reduced-price meals. According to the nonprofit Feeding America, one in six children in the state is uncertain where they will get their next meal.

McKinnon said Four Leaf Clover runs entirely on the help of volunteers who care about the well-being of kids in the community. She laments many young people in the area have nothing to do during the day, and worries rural regions in particular lack safe, affordable summer programming.

She noted Four Leaf Clover recently acquired a bus to take kids on day trips, to places like local farms and the fire station.

"Everything that we do is donated, we are all volunteer workers," McKinnon stressed. "We do not get paid but from the Lord."

McKinnon acknowledged local support has made a difference, and she is proud of a recent $5,000 "Volunteer Voice" grant from Coastal Credit Union.

"It was totally, wholly a blessing to our community," McKinnon recounted. "It was awesome. And we thank them."

Headquartered in Raleigh, Coastal Credit Union has awarded nearly $100,000 to 19 volunteer-run community groups in North Carolina this year.