Honor Volunteers on MLK Day of Service
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"
Each year, Americans across the country answer that question by coming together on the Martin Luther King Holiday (January 16, 2012) to serve their neighbors and communities. The MLK Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, President Obama's national call to service initiative. In addition to honoring the legacy of Dr. King, it calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems.
This is a wonderful opportunity to bring an awareness of the importance of service to an ever-broadening audience. And while admirable as this initiative is, it’s also clear that people volunteer to support their neighbors, communities and a host of nonprofit and philanthropic agencies every day, many times without any form of recognition. It’s true the people who volunteer typically aren’t doing so for recognition. Nonetheless finding a meaningful way to acknowledge their work and thank them for their service is an important form of positive reinforcement. What many people—and perhaps even many nonprofit organizations—may not realize is there is just such a way to do that through the Drum Majors for Service Award.
MLK Drum Majors for Service are volunteers who perform extraordinary everyday acts of service with reliability and commitment, but who seldom receive recognition. Service is called by a variety of names. To some it may be outreach; to others, it may be mission driven; to still others, it may be volunteerism, or even regarded as a calling—but no matter what you call it, there are many Americans who serve every day, every month, every year through a variety of nonprofit organizations and as volunteers for community groups, addressing a variety of unmet critical needs.
There is an easy, powerful and inexpensive way to recognize extraordinary volunteers who are MLK Drum Majors for Service with a special Presidents Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) called the Drum Major for Service Award. This award can be given by anyone—a neighbor, a coworker or supervisor, a nonprofit, a fellow volunteer—as a way of bringing special attention to the accomplishments of someone who has given back to their community through an act of service.
If there is someone you know who deserves this kind of recognition, take advantage of the opportunity to give an award in conjunction with the upcoming MLK Day of Service. To learn more about the MLK Day of Service, visit www.MLKDay.gov for more information.
Julie Brandt is the Executive Director of the Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation.