MLK Day of Service header for webpage

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is a defining moment each year when Americans across the country step up to make our communities more equitable and take action to build the Beloved Community of Dr. King’s dream. While Dr. King believed the Beloved Community was possible, he acknowledged and fought for systemic change. His example is our call to action.

Observed each year on the third Monday in January, MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. AmeriCorps has been charged with leading this effort for the past quarter century.

Making time to volunteer for MLK Day of Service is a great way to engage with your community while honoring the legacy of Dr. King. Whether you plan on cleaning up a public space, mentoring a young person, or assisting those who are food insecure, what you do makes a world of difference.

Find a volunteer opportunity

Use the AmeriCorps Volunteer Search, powered by VolunteerMatch, to find an opportunity near you through one of these organizations: AmeriCorps, Idealist, Just Serve, California Volunteers, MENTOR, Volunteer.gov (National Park Service), and VolunteerMatch. For volunteer opportunities for MLK Day, please enter #MLK in the search box.

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Register a volunteer opportunity

Publicize your volunteer opportunities for the MLK National Day of Service by adding them to AmeriCorps Volunteer Search.

  1. To be discoverable in search results for MLK Day, you must use #MLK in the title of the project.
  2. Create a free project listing with one of these organizations: Idealist, JustServe, or VolunteerMatch
  3. That's it, anyone searching for MLK Day volunteer opportunities on our site will see your post.

If you organization hosts volunteer opportunities and would like to promote these opportunities, please contact us. 

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Recommit to Service

MLK Day of Service resources

Develop and promote a project using our project and communication resources. Find self-starter project ideas, toolkits, and more.

Find resources

MLK Day of Service toolkit

Access social media shareables, press materials, and logos. For any media inquiries, please contact our press team.

The 2022 toolkit will be released mid-December

MLK Day grantees

For 2021, all grants have been awarded. Learn about funding opportunities with AmeriCorps.

Grantees