Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?'”
This question and King’s legacy of service is what prompted the creation of the MLK Day of Service.
According to the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service website, in 1994, the MLK, Jr. federal holiday was designated as a day of service in honor of King’s life and teachings.
This year, Volunteer Starkville and the Maroon Volunteer Center are celebrating this day by providing opportunities not only for people to serve the community, but also for people to be educated about King.
The first of the activities will be held today.
One such event will be the showing of a documentary entitled “Dr. Martin Luther King – A Man of Peace in a Time of War.” This showing will be hosted by the MVC and will be held at the J.L. King Center at 5:30 p.m.
Stedmond Ware, Americorps Vista volunteer with the MVC said this documentary will show some facts about King many people do not know about him.
“The documentary will highlight different parts of the Civil Rights Movement, his role in that and why he is such a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement in that century,” said Ware.
On Saturday, there will be many events in celebration of the MLK Day of Service.
Volunteer Starkville and the MVC will partner to spruce up Brush Arbor Cemetery from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m.
Lastly, on Monday, there will be an event held at the Starkville Sportsplex.
This event is MLK Day of Service and it is designed to educate participants about King and to be a fun environment to explore arts and crafts and kid-friendly games. 
The event will be hosted by the MVC, Volunteer Starkville, Control Generation 2 4-H Club and Long View Disciples 4-H Club.
Activities will include a variety of sports, a MLK book reading station sponsored by Book Mart & Cafe on Main Street, MLK trivia games, face painting, poster painting and a puppet show to be put on by the Pilot Club on brain safety.
Oktibbeha County Hospital, the Starkville Police Department, Oktibbeha County Starkville Emergency Response Volunteer Services, Modern Woodmen and the  Starkville Fire Department will each have a booth at MLK Day of Service.
Jamey Matte, director of Volunteer Starkville, said this event will truly be a community event to encourage people to get  involved in community service as well as learn more about King.
“We’ve got kid-friendly events, a lot of them are focusing on Martin Luther King and just trying to get them thinking about it as not just a day off from school,” Matte said.
This same mindset is in Lacy Jaudon, Volunteer Starkville’s AmeriCorps VISTA. She also said she believes this day should be about service, not just taking a break from school or work.
“It’s been branded as a day on instead of a day off. That weekend leading up to MLK day and on MLK day people do service in honor of Martin Luther King’s legacy of giving back to others,” Jaudon said.
To find a complete list of events, or to sign up to volunteer, visit the MVC website at mvc.msstate.eduor the Volunteer Starkville website at volunteerstarkville.org.