HandsOn Network to Engage 100,000 Volunteers in 1,500 Service Projects and Hundreds of Community Cinemas and Sunday Suppers Across the Nation on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service 2011

Live Online Broadcast Of America's Sunday Supper To Feature Celebrities And Service Leaders

ATLANTA, Jan. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Thousands of Americans will pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this year by using their day off as a day on by volunteering in their communities on Monday, January 17.  In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Martin Luther King Day, HandsOn Network, the volunteer arm of Points of Light Institute, and the largest volunteer organization in the nation, is engaging communities across the country in dialogue and service events designed to bridge social, economic and cultural differences.

On the eve of MLK Day, Sunday, January 16, 2011, national civic leaders and celebrities will host America's Sunday Supper in Washington, DC at 6:00 p.m. EST. This event will be broadcast live via Livestream at www.HandsOnNetwork.org to millions of homes across the world.

America's Sunday Supper, sponsored by Kraft Foods, will feature panelists Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post; Legendary Olympian and UN Ambassador Carl Lewis; Barton Seaver, Esquire Chef of the Year 2009 and National Geographic Fellow; NBA Legend and NBA Global Ambassador, Dikembe Mutombo; S. Leo Chiang, Producer/Director of "A Village Called Versailles"; Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute; and Robert Egger, Founder and President of the DC Central Kitchen. The Supper will be moderated by Fox News National Political Correspondent and author, Juan Williams.

During America's Sunday Supper, HandsOn Network will weave together service and dialogue and capture some of the energy of its network of 250 Action Centers and 70,000 nonprofit partners. HandsOn Network will host hundreds of Sunday Suppers and Community Cinemas in communities across the country.

"America's Sunday Supper will be an opportunity for ordinary citizens across the nation to share a meal, participate in a conversation about issues, and bring us a step closer to achieving Dr. King's vision of unity and brotherhood," said Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute and Co-Founder of HandsOn Network. "We encourage Americans across the country to host their own Sunday Suppers which will mobilize thousands to engage in these important discussions," said Nunn.

In addition, by logging onto www.HandsOnNetwork.org at 6:00 p.m. EST on Sunday, volunteers across the nation will be able to participate in live chats, post pictures and videos and share their service experiences about how the volunteer movement has impacted them and their communities.  In addition, community and civic leaders will participate in hundreds of deliberative dialogues, discussing Dr. King's legacy, the call to service, America's next generation of service leaders and activities happening throughout the country.  

Viewers and participants from across the nation can join America's Sunday Supper beginning at 6 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 16, by logging on to www.HandsOnNetwork.org.  Viewers will be able to ask questions and comment through various social media channels:  Twitter users can comment using #MLK2011, following @HandsOnNetwork and through HandsOn Network Facebook page.

Sunday Suppers

Individuals across the nation will host Sunday Suppers in their homes, local restaurants and other sites where they can come together to discuss the issues in local communities. HandsOn Network provides complete details on hosting Sunday Suppers and how to get the conversation started by visiting www.HandsOnNetwork.org.  Each Sunday Supper host will have a chance to win prizes like a new Flip Camera, free registration to the 2011 National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New Orleans and more when they share with HandsOn how their discussion helped connect their community and continue the legacy of Dr. King.  

MLK Day of Service 2011

In honor of the civic leadership of Dr. King, HandsOn Network, in partnership with Independent Television Service, Campus Kitchens Project, and North Carolina Campus Compact, is supporting cross cultural civic dialogue as a critical avenue for social change by bringing documentary film, reflection, and service to over 110 college campuses, faith based and nonprofit organizations across the country.

More than 100,000 volunteers in 1,500 projects will address critical problems in education, the environment and the economy through HandsOn Network's Get HandsOn! campaign.  Get HandsOn! is a multi-year push to recruit and mobilize a corps of 500,000 service leaders and engage people of all generations in two million impact-driven projects.

A sampling of local events on Monday, January 17 includes:  

• Greater DC Cares, supported by Target, will lead 300 volunteers and Members of Congress in MLK Day discussions and preparation of literacy and warming kits at Tyler Elementary School in addition to over 2,000 volunteers that will serve at 30 sites across the region all focused on education and homelessness.
• Hands On Atlanta will host a full day of activities to include: a Freedom Rally, Community Conversation Forums, an Oxfam Hunger Banquet and a food drive/packing effort to feed 10,000 metro-Atlanta families. The Freedom Rally will kick off the celebration of Dr. King's life and legacy via music, dance, and a generational talk.  The talk, moderated by WSB-TV's Jovita Moore, will feature Georgia State Senator Jason Carter, grandson of President Jimmy Carter; Andrea Young, daughter of Ambassador Andrew Young and Brooke Jackson Edmonds, daughter of former Atlanta Mayor Maynard H. Jackson. The rally will also feature Patrick Corvington, CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service and conclude by honoring nine Presidential Service Award recipients. Over 800 AmeriCorps/VISTA members and more than 2,000 metro-Atlantans are expected to participate in the day's events.
• generationOn, the newly-created youth service division of Points of Light Institute, will partner with PS 57 James Weldon Johnson School in East Harlem (New York) to engage students, community youth groups and families in a day of service, working together to complete projects that will benefit local, national, and international organizations and causes. Activities will include painting murals, creating cards for senior citizens and writing letters to policy makers and community leaders on important issues of their choice. The day will also include a special ceremony to recognize participating volunteers and to showcase youth-created art and poetry, in honor of Dr. King's legacy.
• AmeriCorps Alums, a division of Points of Light Institute, will be conducting environmentally-focused MLK, Jr. Day projects through its wide reaching network of chapters.  AmeriCorps Alums' St. Louis Chapter is partnering with the City of St. Louis and AmeriCorps St. Louis for a massive community clean-up and Compact Fluorescent Light bulb (CFL) distribution project that will reduce energy bills in hundreds of local households and help the environment through carbon reduction. This project will distribute over 10,000 CFLs and is estimated to provide more than $100,000 in total energy savings for the combined households.
• HandsOn Greater Phoenix is hosting 10 service projects across the city to celebrate and honor Dr. King's message of service. In addition, AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps VISTA members will be spreading the word about Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) to lower-income individuals in several communities across Maricopa County. These national service members will spend the morning on MLK Day distributing VITA brochures and fliers to households and local businesses to get the word out about this free tax preparation program that will benefit thousands of individuals and families.
• Chicago Cares will engage 3,000 adult and student volunteers in meaningful service projects as part of their Celebration of Service on January 15th. Community members will join employee volunteers from Kraft Foods and high school volunteers from the Chicago Public Schools Service Learning Initiative in more than 40 community projects reaching seniors, schools, children and adults with disabilities. The day begins with a lively opening ceremony featuring Mayor Richard M. Daley and successful author and entrepreneur Chris Gardner, whose life story was the inspiration for the movie The Pursuit of Happyness.
• L.A. Works will convene over 1,000 corporate and community volunteers to revitalize the campus of Rosemont Elementary School, a Title I school in Los Angeles, to commemorate MLK Day.  Key projects will include: painting murals, planting a garden, creating a game room and "free library," workshops on job placement and college preparation, and building a literacy garden. Additional activities to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King will be hosted throughout the week by L.A. Works' nonprofit partners for thousands of volunteers across the city.
• Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service/MLK365 will engage a national record of 75,000 volunteers for the 16th Annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service in 1,200 projects across the state. Mayor Nutter will present the 13th annual citizenship award and local students will unveil a civil rights mural. In partnership with MLK Day of Service/MLK365, HandsOn Network's local affiliate, Greater Philadelphia Cares has mobilized over 1,700 volunteers in partnership with and is managing dozens of service projects throughout the city.
• American Express and Delta will honor the legacy of Dr. King through the Travel With Your Mind program, which encourages students to be global thinkers and citizens without leaving their backyard.  This year, the Travel With Your Mind program will bring together hundreds of volunteers and students from around the country in service projects that celebrate diversity with HandsOn Network affiliates including: New York Cares, United Way for Southeastern Michigan's George W. Romney Volunteer Center, HandsOn Twin Cities, Hands On Atlanta and Volunteer Mid-South.

To continue Dr. King's legacy of nonviolence and action, HandsOn Network provided $145,000 in grants, in partnership with the Corporation on National and Community Service, to nonprofits for local service projects from community revitalization projects to reflection projects. Points of Light Institute and HandsOn Network are also a part of ServiceNation, a coalition of more than 250 organizations with a collective reach of more than 100 million Americans.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service marks the beginning of a year of service and a drive to create new innovations to combat tough national challenges.  These events and dialogues are created through public private partnerships and are supported by: Kraft Foods, NBA Cares, American Express and U.S. Bank.

There are multiple ways people can serve, celebrate and engage in the various projects across the U.S. To find out more information and how you can be a volunteer, please visit www.HandsOnNetwork.org, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @HandsOnNetwork.

About Points of Light Institute

Points of Light Institute inspires, equips and mobilizes people to take action that changes the world. The Institute has a global focus to redefine volunteerism and civic engagement for the 21st century, putting people at the center of community problem solving. We are organized to innovate, incubate and activate new ideas that help people act upon their power to make a difference. Points of Light Institute operates three dynamic business units that share our mission: HandsOn Network, MissionFish and the Civic Incubator. For more information, visit PointsofLight.org.

About HandsOn Network

HandsOn Network, the volunteer-focused arm of Points of Light Institute, is the largest volunteer network in the nation and includes 250 HandsOn Action Centers in 16 countries. HandsOn includes a powerful network of more than 70,000 corporate, faith and nonprofit organizations that are answering the call to serve and creating meaningful change in their communities. Annually, the network delivers approximately 30 million hours of volunteer service valued at $626 million. For more information, please visit www.HandsOnNetwork.org.

About Kraft Foods

Kraft Foods is building a global snacks powerhouse and an unrivaled portfolio of brands people love.  With annual revenues of approximately $48 billion, the company is the world's second largest food company, making delicious products for billions of consumers in approximately 170 countries.  The portfolio includes 11 iconic brands with revenues exceeding $1 billion – Oreo, Nabisco and LU biscuits; Milka and Cadbury chocolates; Trident gum; Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees; Philadelphia cream cheeses; Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings; and Oscar Mayer meats.  Approximately 70 brands generate annual revenues of more than $100 million.  Kraft Foods (www.kraftfoodscompany.com; NYSE: KFT) is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and Ethibel Sustainability Index.

About NBA Cares

NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world.  Through this umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have donated more than $145 million to charity, completed more than 1.4 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 525 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play, in  22 countries on five continents.  NBA Cares works with internationally recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: KaBOOM!, Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, UNICEF, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.

Editor's Note: online sources can embed live broadcast of America's Sunday Supper through this code: <iframe src="http://cdn.livestream.com/events/handsonmlk/embed.html" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="900px" height="825px"></iframe>

SOURCE HandsOn Network