Hundreds of volunteers pitch in for 10th annual MLK Day of Service in Flossmoor, Illinois
FLOSSMOOR, Ill. (CBS)—Hundreds in Flossmoor volunteered their time Monday for the 10th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, honoring first responders and children who are battling cancer.
Acts of service for those who protect and serve.
"For MLK Day, we are donating sweets for the community, and we want to thank you for your service," said Chaz Jones while handing a treat box to a first responder.
Jones is on the teen advisory board for Plan 4 Success—a non-profit started in 2016 by Executive Director Nicki Brookens after her three nephews were shot in Chicago.
"There comes a time when you want to do something and a time you have to do something. So I wanted to create PLAN, which stands for Participate to Learn, How to take Action and Network and that's what we teach our kids," Brookens said.
Thirty teens from several high schools packed boxes with sweet treats inside Flossmoor Village Hall to deliver to 42 police and fire departments in the south and west suburbs.
"It means a lot because I like to lift others up, so to get a chance to do that, it means a lot," said Teen Advisory Board Treasurer Lance Powell.
"I'm a strong believer in good karma. So the positivity that we put out is the positivity that we get back," said board member Blair Brown.
Across the hall from Plan 4 Success sits a mountain of toys. It's been a constant flow of people bringing in new boxes of Legos for this non-profit organization, Bricks of Hope.
"I was introduced to Bricks of Hope because my oldest son had cancer a couple of years ago when he was 19 years old, and he was given a really large Lego set, the race car ones," said volunteer Gina Logalbo.
Bricks of Hope, also a non-profit organization, collects new Legos because playing is a critical component of recovery for sick children.
Brooke King-LaBreck brought a bag full of toys to support her friend.
"That especially touched me because we have our own service project from when my son was in the hospital and we collected pop tabs to benefit Ronald McDonald House," she said.
For a decade, the Village of Flossmoor has encouraged organizations to make the national holiday a "day on" instead of a "day off" by actively participating in a service project.
"When we talk about and his beloved community, he encourages a volunteer spirit and I think we live in that in Flossmoor and we want to continue to do more," said Jackie Riffice, Flossmoor Community Relations Commission co-chair.
