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AUSTIN (KXAN) – While many spent their day off lounging around in their pajamas watching Netflix, hundreds of Austinites left their houses this morning to donate their day off in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
“Before I got involved with this, I used to be ‘Oooh a three-day
weekend’, but now it’s like I get to come and make a change and do something
productive with my day,” says Sandy Romero, an intern with the Austin Youth
River Watch. The non-profit organization offers afterschool programs in
environmental science to Austin youth.
Romero joined over a hundred volunteers along Buttermilk Creek in
East Austin. They pulled dozens of trash bags full of garbage, mattresses, and
even a couple of shopping carts out of the creek. Austin Youth River Watch
teamed up with the St. John Neighborhood Association to clean up the
area.
Romero was a member of the group before graduating high school.
Now, the University of Texas student works to help educate youth. “We’re doing
something that matters, something that’s going to make a difference in the long
run,” Romero says.
Akeem McLennon, a member of the St. John’s Neighborhood
Association, says events like today have a big impact on the neighborhood. “The
trash here used to really pile up,” McLennon says, but thanks to the project,
part of the creek that doesn’t usually get cleaned is getting much needed
attention. “Normally when we just do small community events, we don’t get the
coverage to clean up more of the creek.”
The Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the Martin
Luther King Jr. Service Day. The day is meant to honor the legacy of Dr. King
by getting people out and serving their community. It’s meant to be “a day on,
not a day off.”
The day is one of two service days that are nationally recognized.
The other National Day of Service is September 11th.
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