Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 19, 2004
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136
Alt Contact:  Bill Basl, Washington Commission for National and Community Service, 360-902-0663

Gov. Gary Locke Leads Call to Serve on King Holiday, Participates in AmeriCorps Service Project

Gov. Gary Locke today observed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday by participating in a volunteer project in Seattle. Each year, Locke urges Washington citizens to make the MLK holiday “a day on, not a day off” by participating in community service projects.

“At the heart of Dr. King’s philosophy was the idea of service,” Locke said. “Dr. King told us, ‘Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.’ You can make a difference in your community by volunteering. No project is too small.”

Locke worked with a team of volunteers to clean and paint classrooms at the Islamic School of Seattle. The project was coordinated by AmeriCorps’ City Year program. Other participants included students, community volunteers and AmeriCorps members from Intergeneration Innovations and SeaMar Community Health Corps.

Other MLK projects coordinated by City Year of Seattle-King County include the Lifelong AIDS Alliance, the Bailey-Boushay House and the Cheasty Greenspace Project.

Locke has a long tradition of service on MLK Day. Last year, he helped construct the foundation for a community “P-Patch” garden in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. Previously, he helped build a play structure at a Seattle elementary school and helped construct a house in Tacoma for a low-income family with Habitat for Humanity.

Created in 1994, AmeriCorps is a national service program modeled after the Peace Corps, which enables individuals of all ages to dedicate a year of their lives to helping their community through voluntary service. AmeriCorps engages individuals to meet critical needs in education, public safety, public health and the environment. Members serve with thousands of schools, nonprofits and faith-based organizations nationwide.

The largest contingent of members in a single Washington program is the Washington Reading Corps, which places nearly 300 members in 135 schools throughout the state to help children improve their reading skills.

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Related links: www.governor.wa.gov; www.ofm.wa.gov/servewa; www.cityyear.org

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