Giving back to Jacksonville community in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

More than a hundred volunteers from across Jacksonville came together Monday to give back to the community. It was all done in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior; on the day we all recognize the iconic civil rights leader.

Action News Jax caught up with an organization that’s putting some beautiful touches on an Arlington school.

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City Year Jacksonville is celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Junior Day by beautifying the Woodland Acres Elementary School.

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The campus of Woodland Acres Elementary in Arlington is getting its first makeover in over in 15 years. City Year Jacksonville is focusing on the beautification of both the school’s interior and exterior.

“We have the courtyard that’s being beautified. We have a bunch of murals that we are painting. We have a lot of landscaping projects happening,” Senior Impact Director of City Year Quintin Griffin said. “The main office, we have the bulletin board that’s being revitalized. In front of the school, we have paw prints and quotes being put down for students to see every day.”

City Year selects different schools to offer its services to every MLK Day. Organizers said there was a special need for this elementary school.

Griffin said, “The Arlington community has been overlooked for too long. This is our first year serving the Woodland Acres Campus. We want to revamp this campus because it meant a lot to us.”

The school’s principal, Shawn Platts, wants his students to understand the true meaning of beautification efforts like this – all done in the spirit of the Dr. Martin Luther Kind Jr., whose life was committed to equality and public service.

“I want them to know about the purpose of this. I don’t want them to get caught up in what’s happening. But looking at the people taking time out their day to give back to students they probably will never meet, Principal of Woodland Acres Elementary School Shawn Platts said. “So, this is a big opportunity for our students to see how important it is to give back to a community even if they don’t live in it.”

“It is magical. We won’t be here, but we know the impact that we are making,” Executive Director of local programs of CISV Reggie Agulto said.

This project is expected to be done on Tuesday.

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City Year of Jacksonville has been celebrating MLK Day with hours of service in their communities for ten years now.`

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