MLK Service Day Inspires Community Engagement
Elise Kapitancek serves meals at Rosie's Place on MLK Service Day
Junior Elise Kapitancek spent Martin Luther King Day distributing meals at Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.
She was one of many Suffolk students who took part in the University’s first-ever Martin Luther King, Jr., Service Day program, organized by Suffolk’s Organization for Uplifting Lives through Service (S.O.U.L.S.).
Kapitancek saw firsthand the plight of the homeless, especially women.
“This was an opportunity for me to not only help out but also to learn more about the organization,” she said.
In addition to Rosie’s Place, Suffolk students volunteered at the Oasis Coalition Women’s Group and the Boston Rescue Mission, which serve homeless or indigent people in Greater Boston.
“By engaging in service on this particular day, the students personally connected with Dr. King’s message and legacy,” said Tim Albers, assistant director, S.O.U.L.S. Center for Community Engagement. “They learned more about the community that we are all a part of, not apart from, through these various community service projects.”
“It was a very upbeat environment at Rosie’s Place,” said Kapitancek who served meals to women and their children. “While these women have struggles, you see they still have joy in their lives.”
Kapitancek, an international relations major, aims to work for an international non-profit organization specializing in human rights. “I picture myself at the grassroots level, reaching out to people who need help,” she said.