Univ. of Ala. students make a difference on MLK Day

TUSCALOOSA, Ala, (WBRC) - Give an ‘A+’ for a number of University of Alabama students who chose not to sleep in on their day off from school, but instead decided to lend a hand on this very cold day, a day of service in honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

The students arrived by bus at Temporary Emergency Services Monday morning at 9:30 and the first thing that greeted them was the temperature.. a bone-chilling 37 degrees.

75 University of Alabama students showed up ready to work at Temporary Emergency Services, an agency that helps families in a crisis.

UA senior Lauren Gilonske could’ve slept in this morning, but chose not to.

“I didn’t give up a lot. Not anything too crazy,” the Illinois native said.

For the better part of the morning, Gilonske and her fellow classmates pitched in and loaded up an 18-wheeler with bags of clothes too worn and torn to be much good for Temporary Emergency Services.

“We don’t throw away. We send those to a textile company we deal with. I think they make rags for manufacturers and sometimes they ship them overseas,” said Temporary Emergency Services Asst. Director Sharon Morgan.

Zoe Winston is with the UA Center For Service and Leadership.

“MLK Day is especially dear to our hearts because it’s closer to our mission,” she said.

Lauren Gilonske sees this community service project as an exercise in character development.

“No matter how big or how small it is, community service projects end up benefitting some aspects of the community,” said Gilonske.

Lending a hand, one bag at a time.

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