Prince William Times – “Ahead of what would have been Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 96th birthday, local middle and high school students delivered speeches Saturday that urged Americans to “fulfill the promise of democracy.”

Inspired by King’s writings, six students spoke about what the promise of democracy means to them during the 40th anniversary of the annual MLK Day event, which was held this year at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Triangle.

The event, hosted by the Prince William County alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, is an annual tradition that again drew a crowd in the hundreds.”

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Submitted by Volunteer Prince William:

Greetings, Prince William:  Breaking News:  You can still help support the Volunteer Prince William Untrim a Tree and Senior Basket Program!  Head over to Texas Roadhouse, 9875 Liberia Avenue, Manassas this Saturday, December 14 from 11am until 3pm for an amazing meal and to help support Untrim a Tree!  Dine in or order to go and have your server share your receipt, which will allow TEN PERCENT of your total food purchase to be donated to Volunteer Prince William!  We hope to see you there!

Do you have a passion for helping others learn? BEACON for English Language and Literacy has an exciting opportunity for you! They are actively seeking in-person and online evening Volunteer Teachers for the winter semester. Flexible schedules are available, with one-day-a-week or two-day-a-week options at various class levels. Evening classes run from 7 PM to 9 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays in Manassas, Manassas Park, or via Zoom. No prior teaching or foreign language experience is necessary—training is provided! To learn more, sign up for a virtual information session at: Info session sign-up  or contact Seth Mazzaro at 571.428.2524 or email  smaz…@osbva.org. Don’t miss this chance to make a difference!

•  If you have bilingual skills in Spanish, here’s a wonderful opportunity for you!  BEACON for English Language & Literacy needs bilingual volunteers at their Winter Learning Circle Registration event on December 18, 2024, 5pm to 9pm.  No training or onboarding required – just come ready to assist.  Volunteers will help new adult ESL learners download the Remind app and complete an online reading placement test using the Learning Upgrade app.  Interested volunteers should fill out this form: https://forms.gle/UoPYeVu92T2YtVVr8.  Please email smaz…@osbva.org for more information.
• You can provide new, warm clothing for a vulnerable child!  The fantastic staff at Boxes of Basics need sponsors who can make the holidays brighter for a local child by sponsoring a Box of Basics.  It’s super easy: 1) Visit their Sign Up Genius page at https://bit.ly/4i8a2eQ; 2) Select a size/gender Box of Basics and sign up; 3) Use their shopping list to buy items to help fill Boxes of Basics; 4) Drop off your unwrapped purchases at one of their convenient donation locations by December 20.  Please visit https://boxesofbasics.org/clothing-donations for a list of donation sites.  Imagine how happy you’ll make a child and their family feel this Christmas when they receive new clothing they are proud to be seen in!
• You can make a difference in the life of a child! CASA CIS needs volunteers age 21+ who care about children growing up in a safe, permanent and loving home.  The staff will hold their next Virtual Information Session on December 18, 6pm-7pm.  Learn how you can help protect abused and neglected children in your community by becoming a volunteer advocate.  Please email jpo…@casacis.org or call 703.330.8145 to receive the link to the meeting or to inquire about alternate dates.
• If you enjoy decorating for the holidays, here’s a wonderful opportunity for you! CRi, Choice. Respect. independence needs volunteers age 12+ to put up decorations around the exterior of their group homes.  Decorations can be homemade or purchased, just please make sure they can withstand the weather for the duration of the holiday month.  While third parties are not allowed inside the homes, decorations can be made and given to staff to hang indoors.  Commercial holiday decorations are welcome such as string lights, Santa, ornaments, and Christmas trees; string lights are a HUGE hit with residents in all the group homes!  This family-friendly opportunity will be sure to put you in the holiday mood as you brighten up the lives of these clients who deal with developmental disabilities and/or mental health issues.  Please email swh…@mycri.org to learn more.
• Although we’re in the holiday season, Martin Luther King Day isn’t too far off, and the MLK Youth Community Choir is seeking students in grades K-12 to join the choir and make a joyful noise!  Participants will rehearse for a special performance at the Prince William Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta (PWCAC- DST) 40th Annual Dr. King Youth Oratorical Competition and Program being held January 18, 2025.  Rehearsals have begun, but more participants are welcome – no tryout is needed!  Please email pwc.mlkcom…@gmail.com to learn more.
• The “Power of A Knock” can help a homebound senior get nutritious meals!  Meals on Wheels urgently needs volunteers to deliver meals to homebound senior citizens on weekday mornings.  Volunteers must pass a criminal and driving record background check.  Routes take about 1.5 hours to complete, training is provided.  You’ll feel great when you find out how inspiring it is to serve this vulnerable population and make their day!  Please visit www.pwcva.gov/department/area-agency-aging/volunteer for more information and forms.  Please email tsol…@pwcgov.org or call 703.792.4583 to learn more.
• The hard-working staff at Northern Virginia Food Rescue is looking for volunteers who are available to be On-Call to help with offloading large truckloads of food deliveries when they arrive at their warehouse located at 10535 Battleview Parkway, Manassas 20109. This role is vital in ensuring that they can quickly rescue and distribute food to families in need.  Volunteers would be on call 7am-6pm with varying delivery times.  Communication is done via text message when a delivery is on the way and help is needed.  Volunteers should be prepared to lift heavy items.  A brief mandatory training will be held for those volunteers selected for this position.  You’ll feel great knowing you’re doing your part to help food-insecure families in our local community!  Please text 571.370.3073 to let them know you’re interested.
• Your office, group or club can provide holiday comfort during December!  Streetlight Community Outreach Ministries’ hypothermia shelter located at 14716 Potomac Mills Road in Woodbridge has an ongoing need for groups to prepare and drop off meals for 30 adult residents through March 30, 2025.  Meals are needed each night and should be prepared off-site and dropped off at the shelter between 6:30pm-7pm.  There are still several openings in December, and you’ll feel great providing a hot, nourishing meal for the homeless to enjoy!  Please visit https://bit.ly/3XXR5SR to sign up and get more information, email thermal…@thestreetlight.org or call 571.677.2883 to learn more.

If you are looking for other opportunities, please don’t forget to call our wonderful team at Volunteer Prince William at 703.369.5292.  You can also visit our website at www.volunteerprincewilliam.org.  Thanks so much for all you do in our community.

Despite the falling snow, the auditorium at Charles J. Colgan was nearly packed on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. A crowd had gathered for the 39th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Oratorical Contest, hosted by the Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

The 2024 Contest Theme was “If America is to Remain a great nation, we must….”

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Press Release: “The Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (PWCAC-DST) will host its 39th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Youth Oratorical Competition on Monday, January 15 at 11 a.m.”

“This year’s event will be held at Charles J. Colgan Senior High School, 13833 Dumfries Road, Manassas. Middle school and high school students from throughout the Prince William County area will display their oratorical skills and children of all ages will sing songs of celebration in the Martin Luther King Community Choir.”

“This free event is one of the oldest and largest celebrations of Dr. King’s legacy in the Washington metro area. The community is invited to attend.”

“This year’s speech topic, ‘If America is to remain a great nation, we must …’ is based on Dr. King’s famous ‘I Have a Dream Speech’, delivered on August 28, 1963, before 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial.”

“In addition to to speeches and this year’s community choir, and the Manassas Park High School Drumline, attendees can participate in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service by bringing ready-to-eat items or microwave-and-eat items and donating to the work of Northern Virginia Food Rescue and its mission to improve food resiliency and accessibility for the entire region.”

“The MLK Experience will also feature a STEAM Speaker Series on February 10 at Forest Park High School; a Wellness Walk on Saturday, April 6 at Prince William Forest Park; and a celebration on April 28 at Gainesville Senior High School in remembrance of the life of Dr. King and to recap the activities of the PWCAC MLK Experience.”

“For more information on the January 15 annual oratorical competition and program, Day of Service donations, community choir participation, and other MLK Experience activities visit pwcacdst.org or register on Eventbrite.”

In case of snow, the event will be rescheduled to Saturday, January 20, 2024.

The Prince William County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (PWCAC-DST), in affiliation with the Delta Research and Educational Foundation, will host its 33rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Oratorical Competition and Program on Monday, January 16 at 11 a.m. on its YouTube channel. This is a free virtual event.

This year’s theme, “A View of the Promised Land,” inspired Prince William area students in grades 6-12 to write and present their views on the life and impact of Dr. King’s legacy. The January 16 program will not only showcase six dynamic student orators from Prince William County and Manassas Park it will also feature the MLK Community Choir, students K-12.

The audience will also have an opportunity to vote for their favorite middle school and high school orator using a special text-to-vote feature while watching the program.

The six finalists are:
• Shavonne Davis, Patriot High School
• Alyssa M. Godfrey, Benton Middle School
• Sakshi Gowda, Ronald Wilson Reagan Middle School
• Myles Lanier, Manassas Park High School
• Kaomi Ninasaume, Gainesville Middle School
• Brooklynn Saunders, Gar-Field High School

The 2023 Youth Oratorical Competition and Program mark the 38th year our chapter commemorates Dr. King’s life. The chapter’s first event after being chartered in December 1984 was a program to honor Dr. King on his birthday. “Beginning in 1985, before the national holiday, the first five years of the program presented prominent local and national adult speakers.

Then in 1991, the student oratorical competition became the program’s highlight,” shared PWCAC-DST Chapter President Sharon Andrews. She also remarked that this transition made way for more community involvement and support.

“The chapter hosts the MLK program each year, but the support from the three local school systems, teachers, coaches, and principals, and the judges, sponsors, donors, and audience make the program possible year after year,” she said.

In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Holiday a National Day of Service– a “day on, not a day off.”

The King Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, addresses social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community.” PWCAC-DST includes a “Day of Service” project and invites the local community to participate.

Following the 2023 MLK program premiere on YouTube, community members are encouraged to stop by 2701 Neabsco Commons Place, Suite 150 in Woodbridge, from 2 to 5 p.m. and donate “ready-to-eat” meals. Items such as applesauce or fruit cups, microwaveable mac and cheese bowls or heat-and-sip soups, granola or other snack bars, and other foods that require minimal or no preparation to eat and enjoy.

All donations will be supplied to Northern Virginia Food Rescue.

For more information on the oratorical program, fundraising efforts, and donation opportunities, visit www.pwcacdst.org/mlk.