Tag Archives: Holidays

Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Commission to be Honored in Las Vegas

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Officials with the Arkansas Martin Luther King Junior Commission will celebrate the King Holiday in both Las Vegas and Arkansas, honoring the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission is recognized as one of the most active commissions in the nation. In recognition of the service of the Arkansas Commission, an invitation was extended for the Arkansas Commission to come to Las Vegas to participate in the world’s largest King Holiday Parade, which occurs on Monday, January 20.

            The national partnership will bring the MLK Tech Summit to Arkansas, introducing high school students to technology careers. The Las Vegas City Council will also honor the Arkansas Martin Luther King Junior Commission for its work, with a special salute from the city of North Las Vegas and a presentation of the city’s key.

            Some of the events that will occur in Las Vegas involving the Arkansas Martin Luther King Junior Commission include:

  • The Ultimate Measure of a Man at the West Las Vegas Library on Thursday, January 16
  • The 7th Annual MLK Tech Summit at the Las Vegas City Hall on Friday, January 17
  • The Interfaith Service at the Nehemiah Ministries Christian Church in Las Vegas on Friday, January 17
  • 43rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior Scholarship Banquet at the Orleans Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Friday, January 17
  • 43rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Parade in Downtown Las Vegas on January 20

Additionally, the Executive Director of the Arkansas Martin Luther King Junior Commission, Dushun Scarbrough, will be recognized for his work with the commission. KASU and DDNS will cover these events from Las Vegas across multiple platforms starting Friday, January 17th, and running through Monday, January 20th.

This year’s events theme is “Living the Dream: Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future.”

Arkansas State Hosts Annual Thanksgiving Dinner

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Story and photos by DDNS Reporter Jerry Burton

Arkansas State University held the annual Thanksgiving dinner in the Acansa Dining Hall Wednesday.

Craig Johnson, assistant vice chancellor for auxiliary services and volunteer coordinator for the Thanksgiving dinner, said the event provides for faculty, staff and students alike.

“For faculty, this gives them interactions outside of the classroom or outside of the offices,” Johnson said. “For our students, it gives them an opportunity to meet with faculty and staff in a different environment. It provides for those folks who can’t be able to go home for Thanksgiving.”

Emily Martin, a first-year nursing major from Viola, Arkansas, attended the Thanksgiving dinner. She said her favorite food served at the event was the macaroni and cheese, while her least favorite was the stuffing. Martin said the food lines never felt slow and the servers were very hospitable.

“We probably got here at a good time, we got in right after the initial people,” Martin said. “I had to go back and get mac and cheese because they were out, though.”

Yurizzia Macias, a first-year nursing major from Little Rock, said the food was great overall. She also said the stuffing was her least favorite food served at the event. She said while the food for the Thanksgiving dinner was being served in the middle of the Acansa Dining Hall, the space never felt claustrophobic and the food lines were never congested.

Johnson said he has helped plan the annual Thanksgiving dinner for 27 years. He said it was harder to find volunteers in the early 2000s. This year, Johnson said he had to turn people away because so many wanted to help.

The volunteer coordinator said he sent an email at 9 a.m. asking faculty and staff to help with the event and by 9:19, the first shift of volunteers was already full.

43 volunteers comprising faculty and staff members helped serve food at the event. Johnson said volunteers receive no formal training other than guidance on giving equal food portion sizes to students.

“We really just put an apron on, put gloves on and say ‘serve’”, Johnson said.

The volunteer coordinator said 100 students were already through the line in only the first half hour of the event. He said he thinks the volunteers served about 600 to 650 students during the event.

Johnson said it was fun to see a full cafeteria again. He said A-State is still rebounding from COVID-19, which caused a drop in the on-campus student population

“I consider a place like this to be the heartbeat, where folks have the ability to engage and interact,” Johnson said.

Macias said she thinks the Thanksgiving dinner will have a positive impact on students, especially those who won’t be able to go home or see their family during Thanksgiving or Christmas break.

“If they see how it is all family-friendly, they will be more motivated to stay here,” Macias said.

Johnson said he hopes the Thanksgiving dinner provided a warm holiday experience for students who cannot travel home while on break.

“I don’t think you can ever replace what it means to go home, we just can’t match that,” Johnson said. “But it does give that holiday feeling that you have during Thanksgiving.”

Johnson said since Thanksgiving is a holiday based on American history, some international students may not celebrate it. He said this event still serves to give these students another taste of American culture and what the holiday is all about.

Martin said while she enjoyed the event, she did notice areas that could be improved. Martin and Macias said having another table for serving food would have helped students get more food. Five volunteers couldn’t attend the event to help because they had the flu. Johnson said their absence didn’t affect the event very much because he probably had more volunteers than he needed anyway.

Johnson said he would like to see more food options served next year when the event is held again. He said he told the head of operations for the event he would particularly like to have candied yams available for students next year.

Macias said she would be interested in coming to the same event next year and similar events in the future.

Local nonprofits and businesses offer free Thanksgiving meals

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Many free Thanksgiving meals offered around town for community gathering

Delta Digital News Service

Friday, December 1, 2023

By Avery Jones | Editor

JONESBORO, Ark. — This Thanksgiving, some local small businesses and nonprofit organizations offered free community Thanksgiving meals open to all in Jonesboro. These events are hosted for the homeless, those without family, those without the money for a Thanksgiving meal, or simply those who want to engage with the community.

The Hope House, a nonprofit organization that provides for the homeless and low-income population, hosted a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, November 16, from 11 AM to 1 PM and then 2 PM to 4 PM. The event was held at their location.

“Our goal is…to be able to be a blessing to those in the community who may be struggling at this time to just have a simple Thanksgiving meal, especially for those who are less fortunate,” said Terri James, the director of Hope House. “Sometimes those of us who are blessed, we kind of get [blind], and we just don’t realize how fortunate we are. To be able to give back to the community is also a way we can say thank you for supporting the Hope House.”

However, the event wasn’t intended just for those less fortunate, but for anyone who wanted to come and partake. They hoped to feed at least 200 to 250 people. They had at least twenty-five volunteers helping out, five of which were staff members at Hope House, but more were welcome to help.

This was the first time the Hope House was able to host a community Thanksgiving. The meal was entirely arranged by them and provided for by donations from the local community.

They planned to serve chicken, ham, dressing, green beans, corn, potato salad, macaroni salad, and desserts. Carry-out was offered for anyone who was unable to stay.

The city of Jonesboro arranged a community Thanksgiving at the St. Bernards Auditorium on Thanksgiving day starting at 10:30 “for the hungry, the homeless, and the lonely,” according to the event’s Facebook page. Home delivery within the city limits was offered for anyone who couldn’t come.

The food was provided by members of the community. Donations for non-refrigerated desserts were taken from 1 to 5:30 PM on the Wednesday before. Volunteers arrived at 9:30 the next morning, and anyone was welcome to help without former notice.

The Jonesboro community Thanksgiving has been hosted almost every year since at least 2014. They usually serve around 1,800 or more meals, with around 1,200 of those being home delivery. The amount of volunteers varies between 500 to 750.

The VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) in Jonesboro hosted a Thanksgiving at their location on Thanksgiving day from 12 to 2 PM. They have hosted community Thanksgivings for many years.

According to Kay Baker, who works at the VFW, the purpose of the meal was to offer to everyone who doesn’t have a place to go for Thanksgiving an opportunity for friendship and fellowship. The meal was not just for veterans, but for everyone who wanted to participate.

The food was provided for by donations from the community of food and funds, as well as from fundraisers. Most of the food was donated directly, and the food was prepared by volunteers at the location that day.

“There is a big turnout. There’s a lot of veterans that have no place to go and a lot of other people that don’t have a place to go, so they come here,” Baker said.

They served turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce, rolls, and desserts. To-go plates were offered for anyone who was unable to stay.

Marie Turner, owner of Billie Marie’s Auction, hosted a community Thanksgiving at her store on Thanksgiving day from 3 to 5 PM. This was her first time hosting a meal, but she has given out Thanksgiving boxes before.

“I always wanted to serve hot meals to people on Thanksgiving, [but] was never able to until this year, and I am so excited,” Turner said.

According to Turner, the event was for anyone who needed a hot meal or was alone on Thanksgiving, and also for any police officers or EMTs that were on duty during Thanksgiving and in need of a meal. She arranged the event herself, using donations from family, friends, and customers.

They had at least fourteen volunteers helping with the meal, including some of her family members. Delivery in the Jonesboro area was offered for anyone who needed it; they already had fifty deliveries scheduled by November 15. They served turkey, dressing, green beans, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkin pie, rolls, and tea.

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Avery Jones

Avery Jones is a junior in the Department of English and Philosophy at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. She can be reached at: avery.jones@smail.astate.edu

Note: Feature photo by Ana Maltez on Unsplash.