TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 13, 2022) – The University of South Florida’s annual celebration of the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. will honor his vision with several activities, including community service and a commemorative brunch.
USF’s Stampede of Service event kicks off the MLK celebration as students will participate in community service projects at various sites across the Tampa Bay region, starting on Friday, Jan. 14, and continuing throughout the month. Dozens of volunteers are set to lend a hand at eight different project locations in the coming weeks. On Friday, Jan. 14, USF students will be sorting food items at the Feeding Tampa Bay warehouse from 9 a.m. to noon and serving hot meals at Trinity Café, a Feeding Tampa Bay restaurant for those in need, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Interested media can contact Renee Rotondo to coordinate: (727) 458-5043.
In addition, student volunteers from the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus will be assembling personal hygiene kits on Thursday, Jan. 13, to provide to homeless shelters in the Manasota area.The items, which were gathered from a campus donation drive, are estimated to fill more than 70 bags. The group will be putting the kits together at 2 p.m. on the first floor of the Student Study Center. Interested media can contact Rich Shopes to coordinate: (941) 209-8591.
On Monday, Jan. 17, members of the USF community are anticipated to participate in MLK parades in St. Petersburg and Tampa.
The theme of this year’s USF MLK Commemorative Brunch, scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 21, in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom on the Tampa campus, is “Liberation & Legacy.”The event features keynote speaker Ruthmae Sears, associate professor of mathematics in the College of Education and lead researcher behind a recent plan aimed at identifying and addressing structural racism in St. Petersburg. The brunch, which is free and open to the public with a reservation, will also feature a student dance and song performance.
A full list of activities can be found on the MLK Commemorative Week webpage.
The USF Tampa campus is home to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, featuring a bust of King and portions of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech inscribed in granite, giving students, faculty and staff a place to reflect on his legacy throughout the year.
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About the University of South Florida
The University of South Florida, a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success, generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News and World Report’s national university rankings than USF. Serving more than 50,000 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee, USF is designated as a Preeminent State Research University by the Florida Board of Governors, placing it in the most elite category among the state’s 12 public universities. USF has earned widespread national recognition for its success graduating under-represented minority and limited-income students at rates equal to or higher than white and higher income students. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu.