Know Your Human RightsDr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service Commemoration
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Los Angeles, 8 January 2007 -- Members of the Church of Scientology participated in the kickoff to the 14th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service at a press conference held at Hillcrest Elementary School in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles. Leisa Goodman, human rights director of the Church of Scientology International, moderated a panel of community leaders including David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Reverend Warren Dolphus of the National Alliance for Faith and Justice that urged citizens concerned about their communities to take action to better them, not just on the Martin Luther King holiday but year round.The Corporation for National and Community Service was created by Congress to honour the legacy of Dr. King by transforming the national holiday recognizing his achievements into a national day of service. Today, CNS is the U.S. government's largest grant provider to volunteer organizations and provides volunteering opportunities for some 2 million Americans. David Eisner told the conference that "the Corporation for National and Community Service has chosen Los Angeles to be the start of this year's Day of Service observance for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because people here are doers. They want a better community and are willing to work for it. They just have to have a means to achieve it. We have numerous partner groups in Los Angeles that are looking for volunteers and we need to marry them up. A target of 30,000 additional volunteers in this area this year is doable."
Numerous partner organizations attended the announcement including the Housing Authority of Los Angeles, Catholic Big Brothers, Big Sisters, the n-ACTION Family Network, Ceasefire, Criminon, Narconon, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Girl Scouts, the Church of Scientology International, the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Clergy Council, the Los Angeles Conservations Corps, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice High Desert Victorville California Chapter, HOPE-4-Life Foundation and others.
The climate for volunteering is changing in America. For the first time, the Martin Luther King Day of Service is being celebrated in all 50 states. Over 60 organizations from the Greater Los Angeles area and vicinity participated in the kickoff which is to be followed by forty other events this coming weekend, starting with benefit ice hockey game between the Narconon Miracles and the Los Angeles Kings Alumni Thursday evening at the Staples Center.
