Flashes Fighting Hunger, Kent State’s student-powered organization dedicated to fighting food insecurity and food waste, is seeking student volunteers for the MLK Family Engagement event at the King Kennedy Community Center in Ravenna this Saturday, Jan. 27.

Flashes Fighting Hunger, in conjunction with KSU’s Community Engaged Learning (CEL), will provide and prepare hot meals for the event Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Students must register before the event on Helper Helper, the university’s volunteer calendar. 

Craig Berger, associate director of CEL, said the event is aimed to help raise awareness of MLK’s life, work and legacy while also strengthening connections between Kent State volunteers and those attending the event.

“Not only does this event provide an opportunity to actively commemorate Dr. King’s life and his work, but it’s also a great way for Kent State students to meet new people, including fellow students, who they likely would not have met without volunteering,” he said. “We know that volunteering wherever you find yourself can make the world feel smaller and lead to a deeper and more empowering sense of belonging.”

Berger said Kent State has worked in conjunction with the King Kennedy Center for decades, going back to its founding in 1978. 

“Kent State students joined with volunteers living in and around the McElrath Park community to create the center at a time when the neighborhood was ranked one of the nation’s most underserved rural communities,” he said. 

Berger said volunteering can enrich one’s learning experience while at Kent State.

“With Community Engaged Learning, I think it’s easy for people to think about ‘volunteering’ and see it as an additional activity, separate from learning, that they would need to figure out how to add to their plate,” he said. “But in reality, volunteering is learning through experience.”

Volunteers will have the option of busing to and from the King Kennedy Center with other volunteers or driving themselves. Volunteers who wish to bus should meet at the Center for Undergraduate Excellence at 11:30 am. 

Leah Shepard is a reporter. You can contact her at [email protected].