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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

This year, the PTO is taking inspiration from Dr. King's words in his "Drum Major Instinct" sermon of February 4, 1968, specifically that everyone can be great because everyone can serve. Watch the above clip for a short excerpt and to hear King deliver his words. As part of the national holiday (a day set aside for service), we are calling on our entire Gator community to find a way they can serve. We are organizing several options, detailed below, but also encourage folks to seek out and share their own projects (see here for AmeriCorps project ideas).

 

For our service projects, the PTO will be gathering clothes to exchange which promotes reuse as an environmental service. In addition, we will continue our food assistance and delivery program. Lastly, we encourage all students to reflect on how they can serve and communicate the value of service through a poster display.

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Learn about our:

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Service Poster Display

All Greenfield students are invited to create a poster based on the text of King's "Drum Major Instinct" speech (excerpt here). Artwork should either communicate the message King relayed that "everyone can serve", or ways the student will serve their community. Artwork should be emailed to the PTO and will be displayed outside the school and online. View the detailed flyer here for more info >>

Heart and Sole Drive

The PTO will be collecting winter clothing in good condition (no holes, not worn/faded, gently used or new) to distribute and exchange. We will collect coats, pants, long sleeve shirts/sweaters, winter pajamas, shoes, and boots in all sizes, adult and child. Please see and complete the forms below to participate. 

Also, we will collect heart-healthy foods for our February food boxes >>

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Excerpt from "Drum Major Instinct"

Martin Luther King, Jr. 
February 4, 1968
(Full Text >>)

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And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, (Everybody) because everybody can serve. (Amen) You don't have to have a college degree to serve. (All right) You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. (Amen) You only need a heart full of grace, (Yes, sir, Amen) a soul generated by love. (Yes) And you can be that servant. 
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Every now and then I guess we all think realistically (Yes, sir) about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator—that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning.

 

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. (Yes) I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. (Yes) I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. (Amen) I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. (Yes) And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. (Yes) I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. (Lord) I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. (Yes)

 

Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that's all I want to say.

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