COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that street sweepers should do their jobs “so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. ’ ”
Columbus resident Douglas Moon was shampooing carpets on the United Way of Bartholomew County’s Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Monday. He was intent upon doing a praiseworthy job at Love Chapel food pantry’s basement storage area on Center Street in Columbus.
“This definitely is a good day for service,” said Moon, who mentioned that his work place at Toyota Material Handling strongly encourages community service. “It certainly seems to coincide with King’s legacy.”
Moon was among 21 volunteers at three local nonprofits volunteering Monday to echo the years of service of civil rights leader King, killed in 1968 after he spoke on behalf of the rights of sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee.
It was Moon’s first time for such volunteering on the King Day of Service. Others such as Stephanie Gorham, also shampooing carpets, already have a year-long track record of volunteerism at Love Chapel, the county’s largest pantry operated by the Ecumenical Assembly of Bartholomew County Churches.
“I saw there was a need,” Gorham said. “In fact, it seems like there is a bigger need right now.
“I know that Martin Luther King helped the world. So I would like to help in my own little corner of the world.”
For the complete story, and more photos, see Tuesday’s Republic.
