Hillman Entrepreneurs Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Montgomery College volunteers from Student Life and the Hillman Entrepreneurs Program honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. January 17th & 19th by serving, leading, learning and committing to continue the important work of being an active citizen every day.
On January 19, through the College’s partnership with Accenture, over 40 students, faculty, and staff joined Accenture volunteers at George Mason University to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Before heading out to multiple projects, the volunteers heard from distinguished speakers from these institutions, as well as Marian Wright Edelman, Rosie Allen Herring, Senator Mark Warren, and author Jake Ducey, all of whom spoke about the importance of service.
The large group then broke out to complete various projects. MC volunteers including the Hillman students worked on a creative project for young patients at Children’s Hospital. Part of an initiative called Soaringwords, the project involved teams of students who thoughtfully and joyfully decorated quilts and pillows with images designed to delight children facing critical illnesses. Inspired by the founder of Soaringwords, the volunteers were guided to include inspiring messages and to design superheroes that reflected their own values and personalities. The quilts, pillows and images were later shared with Children’s Hospital in a sister project where the young patients design similar products for other children — bringing purpose to them at a time when their lives may seem to be standing still.
Other MC volunteers created care packages with Operation Gratitude for veterans. Earlier in the weekend, students also supported the Manna Food Center by collecting over 500lbs of food at the Rockville Giant. Donated food supports Manna’s efforts to end hunger in Montgomery County, including the Smart Sacks program Student Life sponsors every week on all three campuses.