Community Projects for MLK Jr. Day of Service Announced; Here’s How WP Students, Faculty, Staff, and Alumni Can Participate


William Paterson University students, faculty, staff, and alumni are invited to come together for our annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, which this year will take place on Friday, January 26. The University received a $10,000 grant from EngageNJ and AmeriCorps in support of this year’s programming.

With that, WP’s Office of Campus Activities, Service, and Leadership (CASL) — in partnership with the University’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion — has planned a robust schedule for the day that includes numerous volunteerism opportunities both on campus and in the community.

The schedule is as follows:

8:45 to 9:00 a.m. Check-in and Breakfast, UC Ballrooms

9:10 a.m. Presentation: “The Power of Community” by Jeff Lindor, founder and CEO of The Gentlemen’s Factory

9:50 a.m. Pioneers split into service groups and board buses, if applicable

10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. On-campus service experience: Rise Against Hunger meal packaging and reflection activity

10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Off-campus service experiences and reflection activity; locations to which Pioneers will be assigned are:           

  • OASIS: A Haven for Women and Children
  • Brightview Senior Residence
  • Paterson Black Lives Matter
  • Father English Community Center
  • BJ Wilkerson Child Development Center

This year’s Day of Service, aside from being grant funded, is also special in that William Paterson alumni who wish to volunteer and engage with students are invited, for the first time, to participate in the on-campus service experience.

Also new this year, CASL has partnered with Provost Joshua Powers and our deans to incorporate the Day of Service activities into William Paterson’s faculty mentoring program. 

“We are encouraging our sophomore students and their faculty mentors to volunteer together, helping them better connect through a meaningful service project,” explains CASL director Donna Minnich Spuhler. “Overall, we are very excited to see members of our community come together to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy by serving those in need from our local communities and beyond.”

***To volunteer, RSVP here before Thursday, January 25***

  01/22/24