300 to Volunteer at Shady Side Academy’s MLK Day of Service

Approximately 300 volunteers from Shady Side Academy will participate in hands-on community service projects at nine locations on the Academy’s second annual MLK Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 16.

The volunteers, which include roughly 200 students in grades PK-12 and 100 parents, faculty and staff, will celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by volunteering on this national day of service, making it “a day ON, not a day off.”

Community organizations being served include the East End Cooperative Ministry, Bethlehem Haven Shelter, Braddock Carnegie Library, the Pittsburgh Project, Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library, HealthSouth Harmarville Rehabilitation Hospital, the Kingsley Center of East Liberty and the Woodlands Foundation. Service projects range from cooking meals for residents of a homeless shelter to assisting with a building renovation.

Volunteers will begin and end their day at Shady Side’s Junior School campus in Point Breeze (except Pittsburgh Project volunteers, who will travel straight to their site). The two groups including younger students (grades PK-6 plus adults) will complete service projects on the SSA Junior School campus. The seven groups including older students (grades 7-12 plus adults) will perform on-site service work at a variety of charitable organizations around town. See project sites and descriptions below.

“Instilling the value of service has long been a hallmark of a Shady Side Academy education,” said Academy President Tom Cangiano, who is volunteering at The Pittsburgh Project site. “It is important to us to be deliberate in finding ways for our students to engage with and serve the communities beyond our campus gates. The MLK Day of Service is an opportunity for our entire school to come together to be educated about social issues, engage in meaningful service, and reflect on its impact. Last year’s inaugural day of service was a great success, and I’m thrilled to see even more Shady Side students, parents, faculty and
staff volunteer this year.”

Project Site: Shady Side Academy Junior School, 400 S. Braddock Ave.,
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
Serving:  East End Cooperative Ministry
Time:  9:15 a.m.-3 p.m.
Volunteers: 90 (45 students grades PK-4, 45 adults)
Details: After a short educational program about Martin Luther King Jr., volunteers will decorate toiletry bags, terracotta pots, placemats and coasters; make potholders; and collect winter outerwear.