TeamVOLS is looking for participants for its Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 15.

Faculty, staff and students meet at the University Center Ballroom at 8 a.m. on that Saturday and then travel to various places to do community service in Knoxville. The program includes breakfast, lunch and a guest speaker. It ends at 2 p.m.

“It gives people the opportunity to get out into the community and give to others. It’s a great event – instead of sleeping in on a Saturday, you get up and you do something great, and you get to do it with about 200 other students,” Leigh Rhoads, graduate assistant for TeamVOLS, said.

Anyone may participate, Rhoads said. Most of the participants are students, and many campus organizations take this as an opportunity to do community service and build teamwork.

Participants serve more than 15 agencies in Knoxville, and this year TeamVOLS plans to work with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, The Love Kitchen, South Knoxville Beautification Committee and Goodwill, among many other agencies.

Robyn Nelson, graduate assistant for TeamVOLS, said, “I think it’s a good way to go out and serve your community in the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s really easy because you see the efforts that you make on the Knoxville community, like you see what you did.

“Whether you’re cleaning out storage closets or you’re cleaning up highways you can actually see what you’ve done, so you see who you’ve impacted … and I think a big rewarding part is seeing what you’ve done.”

The day was started nationally in 1994 to commemorate King by doing community service and making it “a day on, not a day off.” King said that service is a great equalizer which brings people together and that “everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” UT began participating in the day in 2002.

Last year’s speaker was Rev. Harold Middlebrook who marched with King during the civil rights movement. Rhoads described him as an amazing speaker and said she hopes to have him to come speak at this year’s event.

Students wanting to participate should sign up before Christmas break by stopping by the TeamVOLS office in Room 315A in the University Center, calling 974-8481 or e-mailing [email protected].