Y-Serve leads the BYU community in honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

A BYU Y-Serve volunteer teaches community members how to finish threading quilts during MLK Community Outreach Day at the Wilkinson Student Center. The quilts were donated to refugees and people experiencing homelessness. (Frizz Flake)

On Monday, Jan. 19, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, BYU Y-Serve partnered with local nonprofits to organize an event focused on community service.

Martin Luther King Jr. changed the world through peaceful protests and powerful calls to action. The BYU-Provo community sought to carry that legacy forward through service: making homemade quilts and sleeping mats, donating blood and providing eyeglass lenses.

This year’s event featured two keynote speakers, a musical and step-dance performance by the Rhythm and Soul Collective and a variety of service activities both on and off campus. Students and community members woke up early on the holiday morning to arrive at the Wilkinson Student Center at 8:30 a.m. to sign up to serve.

“I heard about this event last night and thought it would be a great way to spend MLK Day,” BYU student Danica Kilton said. “I’m excited to use my hands to create something for others.”

Members of the Rhythm and Soul Collective perform a step-dance at the kickoff celebration in the WSC. The group energized the audience at the morning program to kick off the day of service. (Frizz Flake)

Volunteers registered for a wide range of service activities, including popping out eyeglass lenses to be donated through the nonprofit Friends for Sight, and weaving sleeping mats for those who need them through the organization Service to the World.

The efforts of the 1,200 volunteers who attended the event are estimated to impact between 5,000 and 10,000 people, both living in Provo and beyond.

“The impact of these projects isn’t just localized to Provo, Utah,” lead program director Jacob Willes said. “Blood from the blood drive will likely stay in the state of Utah, but the other projects will go to a whole slew of different countries all over the world.”

BYU students pop lenses out of donated eyeglasses with the organization Friends for Sight. Volunteers prepared lenses that were later distributed to people around the world who lack access to prescription glasses. (Frizz Flake)

Jason Nouanounou, vice president of the BYU Black Student Union, also emphasized the broader impact of the event during his keynote address.

Nouanounou spoke to the crowd before volunteers dispersed to begin their projects.

“We don’t have to be whole or flawless in order to create change or save others. We just need to be human,” Nouanounou said.

Elder Peter M. Johnson, a general authority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, attended the event with his wife and spoke about the importance of continuing Dr. King’s legacy.

“My grandchildren live in the world that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of, and many sacrificed their lives to make this dream a reality for my family and others,” Elder Johnson said.

Chris Crippen, Y-Serve director and lead organizer of the event, reaffirmed his belief that everybody can be great because everybody can serve.

“We want to take service from a project mindset to a lifestyle,” Crippen said. “We want to teach students to see the opportunities to serve around them and take them.”