On January 13-15, 2007, the New York City Coalition Against Hunger will sponsor our 4th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Anti-Hunger “Serve-a-Thon.”

Our goal is to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by coordinating a multitude of service opportunities at food pantries and soup kitchens in all five boroughs. The spirit of this federal holiday weekend should be to take "a day on, not a day off". Our last three Serve-a-Thons were highly successful; we recruited, trained, and placed a total of over 250 volunteers at more than two dozen feeding agencies citywide. With your help we can make the 2007 Serve-a-Thon the most successful one yet!

We are looking for volunteers who are willing to help prepare and serve hot meals at soup kitchens and unloading, sorting, packaging, and distributing groceries at food pantries. Other tasks can include cleaning and painting facilities, taking inventory, constructing new storage and service spaces, and conducting Food Stamps and Earned Income Tax Credit outreach by distributing materials to clients. Volunteers will be trained for each task.

Participants will also learn more about how they can use their professional skills on a more long-term basis to help agencies build their capacities to both feed more people and help their clients move towards self-sufficiency. Skills currently in high demand are marketing, accounting and financial management, technology and computer skills, and fundraising.