Service-Learning organized the 16th annual MLK Challenge on Jan. 20, 2020, the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. One hundred and eleven Central Piedmont students, faculty, and staff chose to celebrate the holiday by providing more than 700 hours of service at eight community agencies, and one group performed “random acts of kindness” around uptown Charlotte.

Teams embraced unique and diverse challenges at Ada Jenkins Center, Carolina Raptor Center, KIPP Charlotte, Leah’s House of Refuge Community Center, Matthews HELP Center, Promising Pages, Renaissance West Community Initiative, Samaritan House, and throughout the city.

Members of the Central Piedmont community arrived early on campus to enjoy breakfast together, while Dr. Tracy Moore presented about the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and led a discussion about civil rights, social justice, poverty, and civic engagement. Afterward, groups were formed, presented a challenge, and were given $100 to complete their projects.

Those challenges included repairing and replacing perching on the Raptor Trail, creating banners with quotes about historical African Americans, beautification and organizing of facilities that are frequently used, and sorting books for children to encourage reading. The group providing random acts of kindness made care packages of toiletries and food, and they passed them out on the city bus and the streets of uptown.

Afterward, groups gathered back at Central Piedmont, to share their experiences with the larger group.

Learn more about Service-Learning at Central Piedmont.