Martin Luther King Day celebrated with service across the city of Chicago
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Volunteers marked Martin Luther King Day in Chicago with a day of service.
At the Girls Like Me Project's new headquarters in Bronzeville, bags off office furnishings, furniture and other supplies were finally unpacked.
After being established a decade ago, the organization was finally able to set up a dedicated space to continue their mission of teaching media literacy to African American girls.
"There are not a lot of spaces in the city that allow for them to be themselves, to explore, to discover who they are," said LaKeisha Gray-Sewell, founder of Girls Like Me Project. "And I'm just so proud that Girls Like Me is doing that for girls today."
Volunteers helped assemble furniture and decorate the space. Gray-Sewell said it's a fitting way to honor Dr. King.
"When he was here he said the city was the most segregated he'd seen, even from the south. And we know that Black girls in Chicago still are segregated, so we are happy to have a place they can come to that is their own," she said.
Volunteers also gave back to the community at Tanner Elementary School, where the organization Chi Gives Back spent the day beautifying the South Side space. They painted, organized closets and designed a mural.
On the West Side, Ladies of Virtue filled a need for residents of Oakley Square, providing COVID vaccinations.
