The township Youth Advisory Committee’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day presentation – “Breakfast for Freedom” – was held on Jan. 19 at the Gibson House.
Evesham council recently cited the township’s Youth Advisory Committee for its annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 19.
The committee is designed for young people who have an interest in politics, government and community service. Members meet several times a month to plan events in the township. Among them was the annual MLK Day of Service presentation, “Breakfast for Freedom,” at the Gibson House.
The event – financed by a state grant – featured a reenactment to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s birth, a performance by the Cherokee High School choir, poetry readings and group discussions. In the spirit of service, attendees also made hygiene kits for those in need and wrote inspiring messages on cards that went to Evesham senior citizens.
Council’s Jan. 21 meeting was an opportunity for members to address the King holiday event.
“This event honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while also connecting to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,” committee president Yesha Sethu explained. “We began with a community breakfast, which created a welcoming space for students, community members and local leaders to come together.
“The goal of the event was to connect history to the present and highlight how youth can play an active role in civic engagement.”
After breakfast, the youth committee held a short panel discussion that focused on freedom, equality and how the ideals of the Declaration of Independence still apply today. Participants then joined interactive workshops focused on civil rights, active citizenship and the building of inclusive communities.
The day also included committee members performing a skit that revolved around the signing of the declaration; they each selected a passage from the document and made personal commitment cards connected to it.
Deputy Mayor Heather Cooper, liaison to the Youth Advisory Committee, cited the township’s grant writers and Township Manager Walt Miller for their efforts in submitting an application for the state grant, as well as the committee’s creativity in staging the breakfast.
“I want to highlight that the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, at the state level, awarded the grant to the students, but it took the township’s grant writers and the township manager to kind of put (the grant application) forward,” Cooper noted.
“People don’t just write us checks at the state level,” she added. “We have to do the work to get there and the students realized and imagined what could be done with funding. So, $1,000 (out of) our $48-million budget might not seem like a lot, but it does enable the students to use their creativity to provide education and share history with the town.”
