Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Central Pennsylvania MLK Day of Service scheduled in Uptown Harrisburg; organizers seek volunteers and blood donors
Loading...
Summary
Organizers described a Jan. 19 'Rock The Block' service day in Uptown Harrisburg with projects at Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church and St. Paul's Episcopal Church, blood drives, a panel on foster care and a sold-out keynote dinner Jan. 15 at Hershey Lodge.
Organizers of the Central Pennsylvania Martin Luther King Day of Service presented event details to Harrisburg City Council, invited volunteers, and listed partner organizations and sponsors.
Shelly Lipscomb Machia Echeverria, chair of the 2026 MLK Day of Service planning committee, told council the event — branded 'Rock The Block' — will focus on volunteer projects on the city block near Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, including care-kit assembly, no-sew blankets and children’s craft activities. Lipscomb Machia Echeverria directed listeners to the planning website, www.mlk-365.org, for project registration.
Kirsten Keys, a planning-committee member who said she represents the Harrisburg School District on the committee, outlined the multi-day observance: a commemorative dinner on Jan. 15 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center (keynote Mark Morial, sold out), a Jan. 18 MLK poetry event at Harrisburg Area Community College, and a Jan. 19 service day kickoff at 9:00 a.m. at the Uptown site. Keys listed community partners (United Way of the Capital Region, Caitlin Smiles, Tears for Terina, Central Penn Blood Bank, American Red Cross) and sponsors (Giant Food Store, Capital Blue Cross/Highmark Wholecare, Wegmans, Deloitte, Lamar Advertising, Members First Federal Credit Union, the Harrisburg School District and graphic designer Howe, GRFX).
Organizers emphasized a critical need for blood donations and said two blood drives would run at Goodwin Memorial and the Alex Grama campus on North 2nd Street. The planning committee also announced a panel discussion on kinship care and foster care featuring local judges and service providers and said the Leadership Development Institute will launch its 14th cohort later in January.
Organizers asked the council and residents to participate, volunteer and consider nominating representatives for the Leadership Development Institute.
