Taking King Day On, Not Off

City Year Philadelphia Corpsmember Law Murray's commentary was recently published in The Philadelphia Inquirer opinion pages. His thoughts about serving on Martin Luther King Day appear below.

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A day on, not a day off.

I first heard this phrase defining Martin Luther King's Birthday about 10 years ago, when I was a student at Friends' Central School, a private Quaker school in Wynnewood. The four main testimonies of Quakers are equality, integrity, peace, and simplicity, and there is no better day to honor and celebrate those testimonies than this one.

But sometimes it's more easily said than done. When I was at Friends' Central, I always struggled with the question of what I should do with myself on Martin Luther King's Birthday. The one year I did volunteer service on the holiday was my junior year, when I worked at Kensington High School. I enjoyed myself that day, moving boxes from an attic to a trash bin outside on a cold, cold day. Still, my service that day was secondary to the basketball practice I had later that afternoon, as well as studying for a test the next day.

As a student, I usually regarded Martin Luther King's Birthday as a day to rest and, during college, to travel across the state and move in for spring semester. Deep down, however, I felt guilty for treating it as a day off, and I admired those who found the time and opportunity to serve when I didn't.

My time and opportunity are this year. As a City Year Greater Philadelphia corps member, I will be focusing on service on this holiday for the first time. City Year Greater Philadelphia's Martin Luther King's Birthday event is our largest service event of the year. Just as my old school did, City Year will bring a number of volunteers together for service projects in schools in North Philadelphia (Olney High East and West, Birney Elementary, Finletter Elementary, and Morrison Elementary).

Helping to revitalize these schools will also change the volunteers' view of their role in the community. They won't be serving alone, and being able to appreciate our time with one another was part of King's dream.

I have been serving with a diverse City Year team at Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia since October, so service has taken on a completely new meaning for me. For me, service is now a 40-hour-a-week commitment. City Year's vision is that, one day, every young person will do a year of full-time service.

I work with students as a tutor and mentor, encouraging them to believe in themselves and stay on track to graduation. I am not only inspired by my teammates, but I am also motivated by the challenges facing many of the students we serve. Too many of the students across Philadelphia are underserved and underappreciated. They suffer from a lack of time, attention, and opportunities for them to succeed.

Many of us feel as if we need a day off and will take one whenever we can get one. But King gave his life to serve his community, his people, and his country, and he ultimately changed the world.

Serving in these schools on Martin Luther King's Birthday will be a great opportunity for many volunteers to band together and make a significant difference. And the thousands of students who attend the schools will appreciate the energy the volunteers bring; I know that because I have seen it firsthand.

As for me, I'll appreciate the day on, and I know I'll feel a lot better tomorrow than I would have if I had stayed home.