Two Rivers High School students giving back to community on Martin Luther King Jr. Day
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — Students from the Two Rivers High School Key Club invited the community to a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
"I want to show the world that they can be the change, they can be the change they want to see in the future," said JaeLynn Dodson, a senior at Two Rivers high school who serves as key club president.
Dodson and her older sister started the annual event three years ago.
"Eight people showed up for that first MLK Day," she explained.
Their outreach has quickly grown to a few hundred.
Among them was first time participant Aaron Stewart and his family.
"We come from the south suburbs to a place we're not familiar with anyone to just say 'hey, we're here to lend a hand,'" said Aaron Stewart.
Community service is important to Mikai Stewart, a junior at the University of Minnesota.
"Learning how to be a servant to your community is important to my family and myself," said Mikai Stewart.
The Stewarts are labeling swab kits for bone marrow donation.
Other volunteers made tie blankets for people struggling with homelessness and building bookshelves for the newly homed.
"You're coming to do something that's not for yourself but, in a way, it is because you're fulfilling your purpose. You're giving back to the community," said Evangeline Fuentes, a junior at Two Rivers High School and vice president of the key club.
All of it, with Dr. King's legacy in mind.
An "I have a dream wall" allows anyone to post their personal hopes for the future or those following Dr. King's.
"That all students have fair opportunities because I'm really into that idea that everyone should be treated equally and given the means to succeed," explained Fuentes.
Letting everyone's light shine, along with Dr. King's hopes for a brighter future.
"Some people are kind of put off by MLK Day. They feel like they have to relate personally to black struggles, but the biggest point is we're all together to promote togetherness and unity," said Mikai Stewart.
