Triangle Martin Luther King Jr., Day of Service

Triangle MLK Day History

On January 16, 1986, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’ s birthday was observed as a federal holiday for the first time. In an effort to turn the holiday into a day of service, former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford of Pennsylvania and Congressman John Lewis of Atlanta co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act that was signed in 1994 President Bill Clinton.

In the spring of 2005, United Way of the Greater Triangle staff and Bruce Lightner, Co-Chairperson MLK Celebration  Committee,  Inc., begin building on the idea of conducting a Triangle-wide community service project in celebration of the National MLK Day Observance. A planning committee was formed, including members of local civic groups and existing MLK Celebration members. The goal of the planning committee was to figure out how to successfully create an three-county event day of service celebration without interfering with existing MLK Day activities.

As a result, The First Triangle MLK Day of Service took place January 16, 2006. Our goal was to conduct 50 projects and have 1,000 volunteers engaged in community service. We wanted to connect citizens, especially young people, of all ages, ethnicities and religions, with meaningful projects to make the First Triangle 2006 MLK Day of Service a celebration of uniting communities served.