Monday, January 16, 2012

School may have been closed to honor Martin Luther King’s birthday, but that didn’t stop local students from learning lessons outside of the classroom.

Dozens of volunteers honored the civil rights leader’s legacy by paying it forward Monday. Their helping hands turned a church basement into a resource center for homeless teens.

“It is really important for Wichita to have a place like this for teens,” said Jennifer White.

The temporary home aims to give needy youth time to get back on their feet.

“You can do your laundry, take a shower, kind of just kick back a while,” volunteer Rolla said.

The resource center will be open for business Tuesday. Officials hope to keep the building open 24-hours in the future.

Colligiate students also practiced civic duty by making care packages for the United Way on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Students separated hygiene items and stuffed pillows for the distribution center.

“It really emphasizes the importance of MLK day,” said Sophie Beren, junior. “I’m sure he would have wanted us to be doing something similar today.”

Volunteer Kansas and ICT S.O.S. sponsored the events.