Neha Marolia, a sophomore English/adolescence education major, works with Dottie Manes of Avon, N.Y., during today's "Day of Leadership and Service."
View video of today’s celebration with discussion by Tom Matthews, associate dean of leadership and service.
GENESEO, N.Y. -- SUNY Geneseo’s "Day of Leadership and Service" celebrated the work and teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. today with a series of inter-generational and interfaith discussions, workshops, and community outreach projects.
The day-long program included a keynote address by Justin Behrend, professor and chair of the Department of History, on the achievements and setbacks of civil rights activism since before the Civil War. Local resident Lulu Westbrook-Griffen shared her experience of being held at age 10 for 45 days in a dilapidated jail cell with a group of young girls. The girls were unlawfully imprisoned for protesting against a whites-only movie theatre in Americus, Georgia in 1963.
Students and senior citizens who attended the event participated in one of five GOLD (Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development) breakout workshops. Later in the day, they volunteered to work on service projects such assembling hygiene kits for food pantry clients, backpack lunches for K-12 students, or fleece blankets for veterans. Some baked cookies for local first-responders, made non-skid socks for patients, filled activity packs for Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester, or crafted greeting cards for soldiers serving overseas.
Over 100 students, senior citizens, and middle school students participated in the Day of Leadership and Service.
Media Contact:
Monique Patenaude
College Communications
(585) 245-5056
patenaude@geneseo.edu