Bloomfield’s 6th Annual Day of Service to Honor Dr. Martin Luther King’s Legacy Collects 1,200 Hygiene Kits at Bloomfield Middle School Saturday Morning
BLOOMFIELD, NJ -- Saturday morning, the Bloomfield MLK Day of Service Committee held its 6th annual Day of Service event, where volunteers made 1,200 hygiene kits to be distributed to local faith and community based assistance agencies. Video of the event can be found at https://videoplayer.telvue.com/player/gmcC3sJ6AGUdIb568B18VQd22AGea7RE/media/537847?fullscreen=true&showtabssearch=false&autostart=true.
The Bloomfield Martin Luther King Day of Service Committee has been carrying out good works in the civil rights hero’s name for the past six years. In 2015, they painted murals at Bloomfield Middle School and held a new and used book drive. The next year, committee members held a food drive, among other mural events, which continued the next two years before the committee collected 5 tons of food for local pantries and prepared 1,000 hygiene kits last year.
Contents for these kits, such as shampoo, toothbrushes/paste, deodorants, soaps, etc. have been donated by individuals as well as local organizations. These kits will be distributed to hygiene kits to be distributed to Toni’s Kitchen, Park United Methodist Church, County of Essex Homeless Point In Time Count, Isaiah House, Soldier On, New Light Baptist Church, Essex County Division of Welfare, Bloomfield Middle School, Bloomfield High School, Apostle House, Real House and Interfaith Hospitality Network of Montclair. Additionally, volunteers helped stuff 500 knapsacks to be distributed by Toni’s Kitchen.
“The MLK Day of Service Committee has always focused on our most vulnerable residents; the homeless, those at risk of homelessness, those who have food insecurities or those who do not have enough money to buy basic hygiene items like soap or toothbrushes etc. By supporting this project, you are supporting your family, friends and neighbors,” said Councilwoman Dr. Wartyna Davis, who started Bloomfield’s Day of Service initiative. “The Day of Service Committee, the Township Council and I have and will continue to support this very important work, and I am so grateful to everyone who volunteered their Saturday morning to help make these important hygiene kits that will help families in Bloomfield and our surrounding communities.”
“I would like to thank everyone on our MLK Day of Service Committee for their vision and hard work to honor Dr. King’s legacy of community service, charity, and unity. Like the murals that our committee members painted in Bloomfield schools in recent years, this supply drive has served as a tangible reminder that Dr. King’s legacy lives on in our community,” said Mayor Michael Venezia. “I am grateful to Councilwoman Davis for spearheading this great initiative that has become a staple of Bloomfield community service.”
The MLK Day of Service Committee is a (501c3) non-profit that has helped collect food and clothing for drives that took place last month, and will continue to collect supplies for Bloomfield-area shelters and community aid organizations. For ways to make a difference in the Bloomfield community during the six-week Season of Giving and MLK Day of Service, please visit their website, the group Facebook page, or e-mail Councilwoman Dr. Davis at BloomfeldMLKday@gmail.com. All donations to the MLK Day of Service Committee are tax deductible and can be made in honor of a family member or friend.
Committee members include Mr. Luis Felix, Councilwoman Dr. Wartyna Davis, Ms. Debbie Freeman, Ms. Jenni Gamble, Councilman Ted Gamble, Mr. Doug Grant, Dr. Djanna Hill-Tall, Councilman Nicholas Joanow, Ms. Dana Moore, Ms. Vanessa Phipps, Ms. Paula Peikes, Ms. Jody Polidoro, Ms. Melissa Santiago, Mr. Michael Sceurman , Mrs. Mary Todaro, Deacon Robert Walker, and Mr. Matthew Watkins.
A town-wide celebration of life followed on the federally-celebrated Martin Luther King Day, Monday January 20, at New Light Baptist Church.
