Organizations all around Westchester will be honoring Martin Luther King Jr. this coming weekend in anticipation of MLK Day on Monday, January 16 with community events, volunteer opportunities, services, and more. Check out our list of events below if you’re looking for a way to lend a hand, support a cause, or commemorate the civil rights leader’s dream for equality.
January 13
New Rochelle: The Coalition for Mutual Respect will be hosting a Martin Luther King Jr. dinner and service this Friday at 6 p.m. at Temple Israel of New Rochelle. The service will start at 7:30 p.m. The dinner will cost $25 per person, and you can make reservations online.
Scarsdale: There will be a special service at Scarsdale Synagogue Temples at 8 p.m. this Friday. Congregant Alan Wachtel, whose father was a lawyer and friend to Dr. King, will speak at the service.
Mount Vernon: As a part of Volunteer New York!’s MLK Day of Service, the Community Service Associates are hosting a Make-A-Meal for Others event. You are invited to prepare a meal, which includes a main dish, vegetable, salad, and dessert, at the Service Associate’s kitchen facility in Mount Vernon.
January 14
Mount Kisco: Help the Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry collect items for their food pantry this Saturday. You can drop off items, like cereal, rice, tuna, or pasta, at their parking lot located behind the church on Smith Ave.
Various Locations: For further volunteer opportunities, stop by Volunteer New York!’s MLK Day of Service page. There will be various drives and community events throughout the weekend for you to sign up for.
January 15
White Plains: Calvary Baptist Church will be hosting an interfaith worship service on Sunday at 7 p.m. There will be childcare provided during the service, and refreshments served afterwards.
January 16
Tarrytown: Join the African American Men of Westchester, Inc. for their annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Family Day Celebration on Monday at the Double Tree Hotel in Tarrytown. Harvard student Awa Nyambi, winner of the 2015 Social Justice MLK Jr. Legacy Youth Award, will be the keynote speaker, and there will be young adults recognized for positively impacting their communities. You can purchase tickets online.
White Plains: Head to the Barnes & Noble book fair at Barnes & Noble City Center to attend a series of free concerts, book readings, and kids activities hosted by Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Library. The event, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., is a fundraiser: Barnes & noble will make a donation to the library for every purchase made with the library’s bookfair ID (12064929).
Yonkers: A Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebratory dinner will be held at Castle Royal in Yonkers at 6 p.m., kicking off the 75th anniversary of Nepperhan Community Center. Bishop David G. Evans of Bethany Baptist Church is the keynote speaker.
Peekskill: Catch I Have A Dream, a dramatic play chronicling Dr. King’s impact on the Civil Rights Movement, at the Paramount Theater Hudson Valley at 7 p.m. The theater company behind the production, Virginia Rep on Tour, has performed live since 1975, touring nationally for more than 500,000 students, parents, and teachers each year.
Hawthorne: The UJA-Federation of New York will hold a community service opportunity at the Sally & Anthony Mann Center on Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. You’ll have the opportunity to make sandwiches and soup, craft posters and blankets, and catch a poetry performance.
Pleasantville: Assemble reading kits for underprivileged children with the United Way and Girl Scout troop 1033 at the Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson building. You will be creating donation bags filled with donated books for children and other education materials. There will be two shifts: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. You can register online.
Rye: Join the American Women of African Heritage for their annual Literary Celebration to honor African American authors from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Jay Heritage Center. Dr. Daniel Black, author of The Coming, will be speaking, among other renowned authors.
