More Than 200 People Come Together for the MLK Day of Service Event in St. Augustine

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MLK Day St. Augustine Florida

Something special happened in St. Augustine today. MLK Day of Service has become a movement in St. Augustine, it has become a day for individuals, families, and organizations to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in St. Augustine, and it has become a day that joins people together from all walks of life about a purpose greater than themselves.


MLK Day cemetery cleanup St. Augustine, Florida
MLK Day cemetery cleanup in St. Augustine, Florida

When a group of siblings stood up in front of more than 200 volunteers from all over the county, the state, and the country at the 4th annual MLK Day of Service cleanup in West Augustine to give instructions and thank everyone for coming out, you could feel the spirit of service, the moment of coming together, and the eagerness to be a part of making a difference. 

MLK Day in St. Augustine, Florida
MLK Day of Service Cleanup event in West Augustine

If nothing else, this event proves that it just takes one person, or a group of siblings, to make a difference, and age doesn't matter. 

When the West Augustine Nature Society first started out, it was just five siblings with the youngest still in a stroller and the oldest in high school. They walked around inviting their neighbors getting one or two neighbors to come out to help clean up the trash-littered streets around their neighborhood.

They didn't even have a wagon, but little by little they would bring trash home to go out with the regular trash collection. 

This all changed when the Interact Club from St. Augustine High School came out to join them on an MLK Day cleanup event. Instead of meeting a handful of people, they were met with a crowd of volunteers. The shy siblings did their best to speak in front of the crowd, and at the end, they were left with a mountain of trash in front of their elementary school.

Raffle Winner from Pie in the Sky
Raffle Winner from Pie in the Sky

In the midst of all of the amazement came the worries of what to do with the mountain of trash. This is how the West Augustine Nature Society met Mr. Denny from the St. Johns County Adopt-A-Road program. The program provides the students with trash bags, gloves, vests, and when available, grabbers. 

The Wilson Family helping in St. Augustine
The Wilson Family helping clean up the West Augustine community in St. Augustine on MLK Day

A few years later, and here we are today. The St. Augustine Interact Club led by College and Career Counselor at St. Augustine High School, Dawn Eakins, still comes out to clean up at the annual MLK Day of Service Cleanup event.  

The Wilson Family helping in St. Augustine

They are no longer alone, the group of community partners grows every year, but many have been a part of the MLK Day cleanup for several years, and students from numerous high schools in the county come out to be a part of the event. 

Community cleanup in St. Augustine MLK Day

Last year, the West Augustine Nature Society decided to join forces with the West Augustine Improvement Association, because the event had become too large for their neighborhood. They didn't want to turn anyone away who wanted to help, and so sharing their volunteers where it was needed seemed to be the most obvious solution. 

Nu Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. At the MLK Day of Service cleanup in St. Augustine
Nu Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. At the MLK Day of Service cleanup in St. Augustine


The West Augustine Improvement Association was founded in 1956 by local teacher Mrs. Nellie Meade, and the mission to better the community and help with the upkeep of two of the oldest African American cemeteries in St. Augustine is still going strong today.  The West Augustine Improvement Association is raising funds through a cemetery GoFundMe account to replace broken or lost grave markers at the cemeteries.







The 4th annual MLK Day of Service event in St. Augustine took place by two of the oldest African American cemeteries in Florida, the Pinehurst and San Sebastian Cemeteries and around the historic New Augustine Colored Elementary School #36, known to locals as #6.

This year's list of community partners is greater than ever before:


After the cleanup, many of the volunteers continued on down to walk in the Silent March in St. Augustine joining the many people who had attended the annual commemorative breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. downtown hosted by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee of St. Johns County.

MLK Day Silent March in St. Augustine, Florida

“Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  

 

On this MLK Day of Service, remember that if you have a vision and a little patience, you can make a big difference, but if you join together with others the impact you make can be even greater. 

Age and college degrees do not matter. You can be a four-year-old boy picking up trash and inspiring others, a ten-year-old girl welcoming a community, you can be a high school student organizing others and encouraging others to make a difference, you can lead or join a college club, or you can be a parent, a grandparent, a guardian, or a teacher inspiring young minds to do better, to think of others, to look for solutions and to follow their visions. 

If you don't feel like you can start something from scratch, then join others, join already established organizations. There is always a need. Find your community, find others who want to make a difference, and become a part of the change for good.  



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