FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2008
Entertainment
Otterbein students give up day off to work with middle school children on Monday, Jan. 21
(Media Opportunity)
While classes are not in session in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 21, Otterbein's Center for Community Engagement will honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a day of service and education.
Following the Third Annual Westerville Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast, Otterbein will host middle school students from the Columbus Public school district on the College's campus to perform their written pieces for a Reader's Theatre. The readings will begin at 10 a.m. and will be located at 82 W. Main St., Westerville. This will be followed by the "Walk the Walk" program, which urges students to walk through the community to assess needs and increase their understanding of social-justice issues.
The walk through the community will lead them to the Westerville Senior Center, where students will work together with seniors on the "Bear 'n' Blankets" project. The "Bear 'n' Blankets" project encourages students and seniors to sew and craft collaboratively on teddy bears and fleece blankets to be donated to a local agency. This event will be held at 12:30-2 p.m. The Westerville Senior Center is located just east of the intersection of Cleveland and Main Streets, next to the fire station.
For more information about these community service projects and programming updates, visit the Center for Community Engagement Web site at www.otterbein.edu/cce. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration is funded in part by Learn and Serve America, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which also oversees AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, VISTA, and NCCC. The Corporation improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. For more information, visit nationalservice.gov.
Otterbein hosts Councilman Kevin Boyce for annual convocation on Wednesday, Jan. 23
Otterbein College will host a lecture by Columbus City Councilman Kevin L. Boyce about Social Justice: Then and Now for the College's 2008 Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 23, in the Fritsche Theatre in Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St., Westerville.
Kevin L. Boyce joined the city council in September 2000. Boyce worked with the administration to establish the Columbus Youth Commission, a 21-member group of community active youths and students who advise the mayor and city council on youth-related issues, and to restore funding for Recreation and Parks in 2003 and 2004.
In May 2004, the National Council of Negro Women presented Boyce its Community Service Plaque in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to the young people of our community." And in November 2004, he was honored by the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity in partnership with Leadership, At Its Best, LLC., as an outstanding role model for young men.
Prior to his stint on Council, Boyce served as Chief of Staff for the minority caucus of the Ohio House of Representatives. He led the Ohio Legislative Black caucus, where he planned and directed the operation of the organization. A graduate of Columbus East High School.
