NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Hundreds of college students from across Nashville came together to give back to the community on Saturday, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior.
Meharry Medical College hosted the Nashville MLK Joint Day of Service, where students volunteered on projects dealing with food security, community beautification and other community needs.
"Imagine how exciting it is to have over 800 students all over Nashville all the universities coming together," President and CEO of Meharry Medical College James E.K. Hildreth said.
Hear from people showed up to serve in the video above.
Students and faculty from the following universities: American Baptist College, Belmont University, Fisk University, Lipscomb University, Meharry Medical College, Nashville State Community College, Tennessee State University, Trevecca Nazarene University and Vanderbilt University all participated.
The event was a chance to connect with new people, while also reminding students of Dr. King’s dream of a nation that doesn’t judge people by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
"Don't try to punish people for being of a different color or caste or religion or sexual orientation. Learn to embrace all people as your fellow human beings and don’t act out of fear but out of appreciation and ultimately out of love," Vanderbilt University Professor African of American Studies, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, said.
Meharry Medical College first-year dental student Donovan Gilmore knows acts of service keep King’s legacy alive, like packing potatoes that will be donated to food banks.
"When you think about the life of Dr. King, he was one of few people in history that lived for others," Donovan Gilmore said.
Some of the students met each other as strangers, but left connected by their willingness to serve others. Something Gilmore knows MLK would be proud of.
"People get so caught up in the negativity. We forget there are people right beside us that actually want to help us," Gilmore explained.
In addition to serving on Meharry's campus, students were also bused out to several parts of the city to volunteer.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
