Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,”

On the 28th observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, multiple students, faculty and community members participated in a variety of service projects throughout the Murray community as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

­­­Monday morning, a community breakfast was held by James L. Hudson, pastor of the Harrison Street Missionary Baptist Church in Paducah, Ky., where he gave a keynote address to the crowd.

As attendees finished their meal, they were encouraged to register for their choice of numerous community service activities across the region.

These activities included cleanup at the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area Homeplace, painting and upkeep at West Kentucky Mentoring in Murray and local cleanup around the University campus.

Elizabeth Tarter, senior from Greenville, Ky., was one of several students to participate in the Day of Service. Tarter is a former president of Alpha Gamma Delta. She played a hefty role in organizing her fellow sorority members to participate in this opportunity to honor King.

Tarter said she took on the role because she wanted to see her sorority be involved in opportunities that serve the local community.

Tarter and other members of Alpha Gam traveled to the Land Between the Lakes to help clean up the area. She said the University helped her sorority coordinate its service project.

“Each of us spends four years in Murray as a college student,” Tarter said. “We have grown to love the community we are now a part of. What better way to give back to the community that has provided us with so much than with our service?”

She said she hopes the Murray community will see all the students and organizations on and off campus willing to work hard and put in the effort to better the community for all.

“One good action breeds another,” Tarter said.

She is hopeful these projects will inspire others to get involved and take action in giving back however they can.

“MLK once said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?’ Tarter said. “The MLK Day of Service honors his memory and the past while contributing to the present and the future.”

Eric Baldwin, freshman from Cunningham, Ky., and a member of Alpha Sigma Phi, said working to serve others is a common goal shared amongst nearly all Greek members on campus.

“Alpha Sigma Phi participated in a couple different service activities in the region,” Baldwin said. “Five of my fellow brothers went to the Land Between the Lakes to help clean up the area and make it more suitable for all types of visitors as well the local wildlife.”

He said a larger group of his brothers was also assigned to different sections of campus to clean up discarded waste and help enhance the look of the University.

“Service is a large part of our organization,” Baldwin said. “We enjoy taking time to help others because we feel that it also helps ourselves. Although some look at community service as a chore, it is one of the most rewarding things a human being can experience.”

He said he feels his fraternity’s project will help boost students’ morale after they see how much work was put in to keep it clean.

“I think that it is vital for the community to see our organization as an asset. If they drive past and see us doing something to help improve the community we all share, it proves that we aren’t your typical fraternity members and that we are here to improve the lives of everyone we meet,” Baldwin said.

With numerous activities available for groups and individuals to participate in, others were also ready to lend a helping hand.

Alpha Omicron Pi was also eager to take part in the volunteer activities on campus. Amanda Winchester, junior from Murray, serves as the current president for the sorority.

Winchester and other AOPi members chose to work with their local philanthropy for the day. They worked with West Kentucky Mentoring to provide assistance with organizing its new facility.

The women unloaded boxes into the newly established building and coordinated the arrangements of unloaded documents and equipment.

“Service projects allow us as an organization to come together and do good for others,” Winchester said. “Helping the people around you is one of the most rewarding feelings anyone could ever experience.”

She said she hopes in the future there will be a way to unify all of the Greek organizations on campus in order to do a ‘Greek-wide’ service project that could benefit the entire community.

The last activity of the day, hosted by the American Red Cross of Calloway County and Sherri Anderson, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for Veteran Affairs, was a forum for the individuals and groups who gave their service throughout the day to learn more about winter preparedness.

Story by Alex Mahrenholz, Staff writer