For some in Phoenix area, MLK holiday is a 'day on' of community service, not a 'day off'

Tamara McLeod, a sports medicine professor, and her daughter, Kalyn McLeod, a Phoenix high school student, have Monday off in honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

While some Arizonans may spend the holiday on the ski slopes or at the shopping mall, the McLeods will be volunteering at the Arizona Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in central Phoenix, the largest MLK event in the state.

The McLeods will help to staff a booth as part of a monthlong drive to collect books to be distributed to children from low-income families.

"Reading and volunteering are two things I'm really passionate about, and so this is just being able to combine two of my passions with a very special day," said Kalyn McLeod, 16, a junior at Horizon Honors Secondary School, a charter school in the Ahwatukee Foothills area of Phoenix.

The McLeods are examples of how many Arizonans are taking to heart the essence of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the only federal holiday designated by Congress as a national day of service. As part of the holiday, Americans are encouraged to take a "day on, not a day off" — meaning to devote time to volunteering and service to bring change to their communities. In doing so, they are continuing the legacy of King, who spent his life working to improve the lives of others and for equal rights.

This year's Arizona MLK celebration is especially focused on encouraging young people to become more involved in volunteering and service, which the book drive encapsulates, said Gene Blue, who chairs the Arizona MLK Celebration Committee, which organizes multiple MLK events, including the celebration at Margaret T. Hance Park in Phoenix.

"We want to focus on those folks who are carrying the torch for the future, and that is the youth," Blue said. "That's who we really want to encourage and to capitalize on, the youth involvement."

Owning books leads to higher rates of literacy, which increases academic success, but children in lower-income families and neighborhoods tend to own fewer books, studies have shown.

To get more books into the hands of children from low-income backgrounds, the National Charity League Inc. began encouraging chapters around the country to organize book drives three years ago.

The MLK book drive is organized by the Ahwatukee Foothills chapter of the National Charity League Inc., a nonprofit organization that connects mothers and daughters with volunteer opportunities in the Phoenix area.

This is the first year the Ahwatukee chapter has participated, said Flor McCarrick, the chapter's vice president.

The chapter then decided to partner with the MLK Celebration Committee, McCarrick said, as a way to collect books for children who may not own books and also for members to participate directly in the MLK celebration, McCarrick said. The Ahwatukee chapter has about 200 mothers and daughters.

"We have a day of service because of what Dr. Martin Luther King stands for," McCarrick said. "That was one of his top priorities. He emphasized the importance of reading and the value of education. And we thought, what better way to promote his legacy?"

Several pairs of mothers and daughters will be staffing a booth at the celebration, including the McLeods, McCarrick said.

Kalyn McLeod created a box out of cardboard and covered it with newspapers and book jackets to collect books at the Hance Park event and promote the book drive, which will be collecting books until the end of January.

Books also can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday through Jan. 31 at the Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School, 2720 E. Liberty Lane in Phoenix.

The books will be distributed to children who visit the Dream Center, an after-school program in south Phoenix run by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, said Brandon Buck, a community engagement officer for the organization.

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Meanwhile, Kalyn McLeod said she was eager to participate in her first MLK celebration.

"Service is a big part of my life," she said. "Whenever I'm off school, I try and do a community service thing with my mom. So I'm just really excited. I have the opportunity to not only make a (book donation) box but to be able to actually volunteer there."

The Arizona MLK Celebration begins at 9 a.m. with a commemorative march from Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, 1401 E. Jefferson St., followed by a festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hance Park.

Reach the reporter at daniel.gonzalez@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix book drive captures spirit of MLK holiday and celebration