ACCA Participates in MLK Day of Service
Pictured L to R: Cate DeMaria, Maggie DeMaria, Don DeMaria Jr., Don DeMaria Sr., and Melinda DeMaria at ACCA for their 6th year of service on MLK Day.
ACCA was excited to be a site today for the Martin Luther King Day of Service. It was the 6th year the DeMaria family have participated in the day’s service projects. They came out ready to work at the Athens Community Council on Aging. It was a family day of service as they had 3 generations (shown to the left) making the effort lead by Don DeMaria, Sr. who is 80 years young. The younger Don said it was just one way they could be an example to their children by volunteering and showing the importance service has on entire community.
“It is so great to come out and see such a diverse group and community members of all ages show up. We had our youngest volunteer at 4 and our oldest at 80. It just doesn’t get any better,” stated Sarah McKinney, the Director of Development and Volunteerism at ACCA. The volunteers helped spread mulch in the flower beds, painted lines, arrows, and handicap parking spaces, and created a walk way from Hoyt Street into the ACCA parking lot making street parking more accessible.
The Athens MLK Day of Service centers on the idea of “building a peaceful community” and is led by HandsOn Northeast Georgia through the collaboration of a steering committee representing Athens-Clarke County government, school district, non-profits, the University of Georgia, and community members.
In its 12th year, the Athens MLK Day focuses on service projects on the morning of the holiday, when hundreds of volunteers work on sustainable projects such as playground maintenance, site beautification, and landscape restoration throughout Athens-Clarke County. Funding for the projects is provided primarily by Service for Peace and the Corporation for National and Community Service, Athens-Clarke County government, Georgia Power, and Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful.
By joining together in service, we can help realize King’s dream and build a strong foundation for our future.
