FARMINGTON, N.M. – People in the four corners were signing up Monday morning to help and give back to different organizations throughout the community for MLK Service Day. 

“So this is our seventh year, we started in 2018. We started with about 75 people and I think we’re going to be over 250 folks today is my best guess, and it has grown every year, with a little bit of a lapse for COVID,” said Lisel Dees, co-chair for the Four Corners MLK Service Day. 

Apache church was the gathering point for volunteers big and small. Folks ate breakfast, enjoyed the choir, and remembered why today is so important.

“We have just finished the program to honor Dr. King’s legacy, and now people are departing to various sites throughout the county to do service,” said Dees.

Dual Credit Senator for Associated Students at San Juan College, Savannah Robles, helped put this project together for San Juan Regional Medical Center. 

“We have people making tray favors, and thank you cards for the nurses and the patients at the hospital. We have an assortment of crafts that they can do, and they can just put them together. And then in the future when we take them to the hospital they’ll get to the patients, and it will be really awesome because they’ll get a little gift or decoration for their room, maybe even a bookmark,” said Savannah. 

Members of this community know the importance of lending a helping hand and coming together on this special day.

“It’s about beloved community, and it’s about Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream for seeing people from all backgrounds come together and work together for a common good,” said Dees.