{"id":2206,"date":"2017-01-20T09:11:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T09:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/developmenttwo.marymount.edu\/blog\/mlk-jr-day-service-event-kicks-off-semester\/"},"modified":"2017-01-20T09:11:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T09:11:00","slug":"mlk-jr-day-service-event-kicks-off-semester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marymount.edu\/blog\/mlk-jr-day-service-event-kicks-off-semester\/","title":{"rendered":"MLK Jr. Day Service Event Kicks off Semester"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members of the Marymount University Community celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by reflecting on his teachings about service. Then they rolled up their sleeves and put together wellness packages for Hope for the Warriors, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the sense of self, family and home to those touched by military service.<\/p>\n

\u0093It was a good way to start the semester and a nice way for us to be part of a larger community of service,\u0094 said Anne Aichele, director of Marymount\u0092s Office of Student Leadership.<\/p>\n

The event, held at the school\u0092s Lee Center Atrium, included a video about Dr. King\u0092s legacy and an interactive activity in which participants reflected on what service means to them. The wellness packages assembled will go to caregivers for post-9\/11 service members or veterans who have been physically or psychologically wounded. It was part of a number of \u0093Beyond Tolerance Week\u0094 activities welcoming students to the spring semester, which started Tuesday, and included an MLK Jr. interfaith prayer service at the Sacred Heart of Mary Chapel.<\/p>\n

\u0093The prayer service was really a nice way to get people from different faiths together,\u0094 said Vincent Stovall<\/a>, director of Campus Programs and Leadership Development. \u0093It was a wonderful opportunity to show that we have more commonalities than differences.\u0094<\/p>\n

Father Tom Yehl<\/a>, chaplain and director of Marymount\u0092s Campus Ministry welcomed participants, who included Pastor Drew Hill from Memorial Baptist Church and Salih Sayilgan, the Muslim Student Association Chaplain at Georgetown University. Kevin Cramer, James West, Alana Douglas and M. Jachuku Howard of the Black Student Alliance presented excerpts from King\u0092s, \u0093I Have a Dream Speech\u0094 in a group, spoken-word style. The service also included other readings, reflections and music.<\/p>\n

\u0093This event was a new collaboration, and there is interest in making this service an annual event,\u0094 said Stovall, who read an excerpt from King\u0092s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.<\/p>\n

Other \u0093Beyond Tolerance Week\u0094 events included:<\/p>\n