Montgomery County will celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a Day of Service and a Tribute and Musical Celebration on Monday, January 16, 2012.

The Day of Service activities include the annual program held at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center and additional service project sites around the County. There will also be a countywide food drive to benefit the Manna Food Center the weekend preceding MLK Day.
The Tribute and Musical Celebration will be held at the Music Center at Strathmore beginning at 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and are available on a limited basis at www.strathmore.org .

Help the Hungry Food Drive

The countywide “Help the Hungry” food drive to benefit the Manna Food Center will be conducted at all 28 Giant locations in Montgomery County on Saturday, January 14 and Sunday, January 15. Groups are encouraged to “adopt a store” collection site on either, or both, days. For more information, visit www.mannafood.org.

Day of Service Activities

The Montgomery County Volunteer Center is organizing and coordinating indoor family-friendly service projects at three locations, Bethesda North Marriott, Silver Spring Civic Building, and the Universities at Shady Grove. The volunteer projects are all approved for Student Service Learning hours. For more information and to pre-register for all locations, visit www.montgomeryserves.org.

Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda – 1 to 3 p.m. Activities include decorating cards for troops, assembling peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for local shelters, constructing fleece blankets for Montgomery Hospice and packing snow day boxes for Meals on Wheels. Various agencies will be present at the Volunteer Fair for anyone wishing to learn more about ongoing volunteer opportunities in Montgomery County.

Gapbuster Learning Center, Silver Spring Civic Building, One Veterans Place – 12:30 to 3 p.m. A variety of family friendly service projects will be offered.

The Universities at Shady Grove, Multipurpose Room in Building II, 9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rockville from 10 a.m. to noon. Various family friendly service projects will be available to participants.

Musical Celebration – 4 to 6 p.m.

The Tribute and Musical Celebration – “Living the Legacy, We are All Part of the Dream” -- will take place at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda from 4 to 6 p.m.

The annual celebration is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Tickets are required and may be reserved through Strathmore’s website at www.strathmore.org or in person at the Strathmore box office. On the day of the performance, the doors will open to non-ticket holders at approximately 3:45 p.m. until all seats are filled.

The Day of Service locations will be collecting non-perishable food items for Manna Food Center to distribute to those in need.

For more information about the musical celebration, call the Office of Community Partnerships at 240-777-2503. For information about the Service Day projects, call the Volunteer Center at 240-777-2600.