Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 90th birthday was observed in different ways throughout the nation. Here in Des Moines, while students had a day off from class, many observed the holiday by doing special service projects.
For example, students whose parents had to work marked Dr. King’s birthday at Metro Kids Care with a party paying forward birthday cheer to DMPS families who can’t always afford the extras on special days.
Elementary school students arrived Monday to a pile of cake mix, frosting and candles, donated by DMPS staff the week before. The students picked up brown bags with handles and markers and began drawing their favorite birthday images. Then out came the construction paper, colored yarn and string, scissors and hole punchers to create construction paper birthday cards covered in hearts, rainbows and butterflies. Into each thoughtfully decorated birthday bag was placed a box of cake mix, a can of frosting, a package of birthday candles and one handmade birthday card, all destined for food pantries located in school buildings throughout DMPS.
Metro Kids students provided some non-birthday help to the DMPS food pantries, too. Working with stacks of donated t-shirts, they turned each into a cloth bag to help families carry home their canned or boxed food items.
Celebrating Dr. King’s birthday with love and service to others came naturally to these young hearts.
