Martin Luther King Association Joins UNC Asheville for Annual Youth Program
Staff reports
Each year The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association sponsors a full range of activities honoring the memory of Dr. King. One of the organization’s key aims is to keep Dr. King’s dream alive by inspiring members of younger generations to help bring it closer to reality.
The events marking the 2010 King holiday will begin on Thursday, January 14 with a Youth Celebration held in Lipinsky Auditorium on the campus of UNC Asheville at 4 p.m.
This year twenty-eight outstanding youth were nominated by peers, teachers, pastors, and community leaders to receive the Martin Luther King Youth Award. Each nominee will be recognized at the celebration and honored for their leadership. Oralene Simmons, Chair of the King Association, says, “We especially want to celebrate the youth in our community who are contributing to Dr. King’s dream.”
The joint sponsorship is designed in part to encourage local teens to
become familiar with the University and think of it as part of their
future. Deirdre Wiggins, the University’s Director of Retiree Services,
is active with the MLK committee. She notes that the campus, located
several miles from downtown, is unknown to inner-city teens, many of
whom don’t imagine a college education as part of their future. Mrs.
Simmons and University Provost Jane Fernandes hope to break down that
barrier by inviting the high school and middle-school students onto the
campus. To that end, undergraduate leaders will participate in the
youth-themed program and offer the teens mentoring and campus
orientation.
“UNC Asheville, one of the true gems of Western North Carolina, has
been something of a hidden gem to an essential part of our community,”
remarked Provost Fernandes. “We want local youth to see our campus as
the welcoming and inclusive place it is designed to be.”
The youth celebration, which is free and open to the public, also
includes music and live entertainment as well as refreshments donated
by the University. Support for the program is also provided by
Asheville High School and other area organizations, businesses, and
individuals.
Mrs. Simmons notes, “We would not be able to honor these youth the way
we do without the contributions of many dedicated people who extend
their time and generosity beyond measure. Deirdre Wiggins opened the
door to the University for the first time. Provost Fernandes and her
husband James, Angela Jones, Jacqueline and James King, and David Gantt
– they are all crucial to making this event a success.”
