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Oakland volunteers clean schoolyard and park during MLK Day service projects
Summary
Local groups including Higher Ground Development and California Climate Action led cleanups and restoration work at Brookfield Elementary and Arroyo Viejo Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, organizers said.
Hundreds of volunteers took part in Martin Luther King Jr. Day service projects across Oakland, carrying out cleanups and beautification work at Brookfield Elementary and Arroyo Viejo Park, NBC Bay Area reported.
Local groups said the projects are meant to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message by turning a day of service into sustained community action. Higher Ground Development organized multiple cleanups in East Oakland, and volunteers with California Climate Action focused on park restoration and rec-center improvements.
Volunteers at Higher Ground Development said the Brookfield Elementary site has been an ongoing focus: "What you see here used to be concrete sunken in 4 feet of water. Kids would play in it, and we realized it was not safe," a Volunteer (Higher Ground Development) said, describing safety and drainage work that organizers say has connected neighborhoods over the years. Higher Ground Development told NBC Bay Area this is the group's 14th year working on East Oakland community enhancement projects.
At Arroyo Viejo Park, volunteers with California Climate Action spent the day clearing and restoring green spaces and work around the recreation center. "MLK's whole message was that, you know, action starts in the community. If we want to see change, we have to be on the forefront of that change," a Volunteer (California Climate Action) told the reporter.
NBC Bay Area reporter Valena Jones filed the coverage.
