United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago and The Arc join MLKDay of Service to End Food Insecurity – Chicago Daily Herald

On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago commemorates the life of Dr. King and reflects on his dream for equality and civil rights for all people. The civil rights leader's passionate and persistent fight for equality and against discrimination paved the way for the disability community to advance and persevere in its ongoing fight for equality, rights, and inclusion.

UCP Seguin is making it a day on, not a day off! Volunteers with intellectual and developmental disabilities will work alongside volunteers without disabilities to help children and adults in our community who experience challenges accessing food and struggle with food insecurity.

The "#MLKDay of Service" will be 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Glen Crest Middle School, 725 Sheehan Ave. in Glen Ellyn.

Volunteers from Glen Crest Middle School in Glen Ellyn, Lincoln Middle School in Berwyn, and UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago will assemble 250 nutritious Breakfast Bags that will be distributed to the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans and other homeless veterans organizations.

The volunteers also will fill 350 weekend backpacks with nutritious food for weekend meals for students experiencing food insecurity -- the backpacks will be distributed by the social work teams at the school districts to provide privacy for the students receiving the backpacks.

At the conclusion of the service project, the volunteers will join together for lunch and share a meal together. The volunteers will receive a bowl they designed at the volunteer kickoff. These bowls will be a remembrance of this project for the volunteers.

"People with disabilities are often perceived as the ones always in need of help, but in reality, they also have the desire and ability to help others and to play an active role in strengthening their own communities," said John Voit, president and CEO of UCP Seguin. "In the true spirit of Dr. King, the Day of Service shines a light on what all people -- including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities -- can do to love, uplift, and support their neighbors."

The Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that leads MLK Day of Service, selected The Arc and a small group of other organizations to plan and participate in volunteer projects that help unite communities across the nation.

This year, several chapters of The Arc and partner organizations will work together to address food insecurity and promote inclusive volunteering to bring together people with and without disabilities to serve their communities.

The Arc advocates for and serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including Down syndrome, autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy and other diagnoses. The Arc has a network of over 600 chapters across the country promoting and protecting the human rights of people with ntellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes and without regard to diagnosis.

UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago believes that all people, regardless of ability, deserve to achieve their potential, advance their independence and act as full members of the community. So we stop at nothing to provide life skills training, assistive technology, meaningful employment and a place to call home for people with disabilities, as well as specialized foster care for children. Our goal: life without limits for people with disabilities. Learn more about UCP Seguin at http://www.ucpseguin.org.

Go here to see the original:
United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago and The Arc join MLKDay of Service to End Food Insecurity - Chicago Daily Herald