Around 280 volunteers painted more than 50 murals, completed eight construction projects, and assembled 300 care packages for students of Lloyd Barbee Montessori School for City Year Milwaukee’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service on Monday, January 15. As a volunteer myself, I hope to give insight on what the day looked like.
The Senior Vice President and Executive Director for City Year Milwaukee, Dr. Stephanie Maney-Hartlaub, began the program with a speech. She spoke about AmeriCorps members assisting students in graduating on time and thanked the Milwaukee Public School System, emphasizing the teachers and the administration’s role in the education of Milwaukee children.
“This is a day we celebrate a man who put his life on the line serving others,” she said. She talked about taking action and living up to the dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Maney-Hartlaub, thoughtfully quoted the civil rights leader: “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” She spoke of the importance of children feeling comfortable coming to school every day as their true selves, and how she felt the district had done an amazing job in providing a culture that allowed exactly that. She ended her speech by taking a moment to remember Sen. Herb Kohl and spoke about him living on through the people he touched in the community.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson was seen walking up and down the aisles, greeting the volunteers, and thanking them for their service. County Executive David Crowley was in attendance and also greeted many of the volunteers. Perhaps my favorite interaction was with Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul. Kaul not only attended the program, but he also got his hands dirty.
My group’s assignment for the day was to outline and paint a quote in one of the school’s hallways. Shortly after we had begun painting, our group was joined by Kaul. He spoke humbly and was very gracious in his responses as my group asked him every question we could think of. When prompted, he patiently explained his job and thoughtfully spoke about his time at Yale and Stanford. All of this he did with a smile on his face and a paintbrush in his hand, as he helped us paint our quote on the wall of Lloyd Barbee Montessori School.
The project was an overwhelming success. The school was transformed and the care packages were ready for students to receive when they returned to school. It was a great day of volunteers, service members, elected officials, teachers, and community members coming together to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
