2012 MLK Day of Service and Youth Leadership Conference

Why a new event for the Elgin community to honor the legacy of Dr. King?
MLK Day is nationally recognized as a DAY ON, not a day off of school or work, to serve others. This new event marks Elgins uniting with the rest of the country to bring people from all walks of life to work together and make a difference in their communities. MLK Day of Service is January 16, 2012. The morning will be dedicated to service and the afternoon will be a gathering of all service participants in a leadership conference.

Monday, January 16

FREE
Lifes most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others? Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This event is sponsored by the City of ElginMLK Celebration Committee: Janice HareVice Chair, Human Relations Commission * Aloun Khotisene YWCA * Rose Reinert-AllenBoys and Girls Club * June WootenCommunity Volunteer * Dianha Ortega-Ehreth Youth Leadership Academy * Leon Bradshaw * Algwanda Dussard Bethesda Church of God in Christ * Shaan JonesCo-chair of MLK Celebration Committee and founder, Ikandu Gospel Entertainment * Danise Habun Chair, Human Relations Commission * Mary KirkmanWRMN Radio * Cherie MurphyCity of Elgin If you have questions about this event, please call 847-214-6965 (Youth Leadership Academy) or send an e-mail to dortega-ehreth@elgin.edu.

Who can participate?

All residents and friends of the Elgin area are invited to serve! The program is designed for young people (from middle or high school) to participate serving together in groups with their adult leaders. Adult leaders can be parents, faith community leaders, teachers, program coordinators, or any adult who wishes to help young people learn more about the legacy of Martin Luther King and make a difference in their community. Groups may register on behalf of any community entity, such as a church, a school, a class, a youth serving agency, a club or organization, or even a family! The event is FREE to all participants. See the registration form on page 3 of this booklet for more information. "Elgin is a diverse community its one of the many reasons why its a great place to live. Im excited for this new event because it is an opportunity for us to celebrate this diversity and make a difference in the lives of our neighbors. Dr. King worked with people of all backgrounds and made a huge difference. I call on young people to be active members of this community and participate from this DAY ON as we continue to live into Dr. Kings dream."
Elgin Mayor David Kaptain

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2012 MLK Day of Service and Youth Leadership Conference SCHEDULE

9:00 11:00 am 11:30 am 12:001:00 pm MORNING: DAY OF SERVICE: Registered groups will be assigned to a service project Groups check-in at The Centre of Elgin, 100 Symphony Way, Elgin Lunch available for groups sponsored by Meijer of Elgin

1:00 pm AFTERNOON: YOUTH LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE begins at The Centre of Elgin in the Heritage Ballroom featuring keynote speaker, Reggie Legend, and a Drum Circle led by Nathaniel Viets-VanLear 2:00 2:50 Workshops participants will break-out into smaller rooms to learn about the topic of their choice: Civil Disobedience * Nonviolence * Understanding Diversity * Power of Education Responsibility: Are you a victim or a creator? * Elgin Religious Leaders: Reflections on the Legacy of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 3:00 3:30 4:20 4:30 5:00 Snack break for all participants sponsored by Boys and Girls Club of Elgin Workshops Same workshops will be offered at this time Closing Program in the Heritage Ballroom

Reggie Legend, Keynote Speaker

Nathaniel Viets-VanLear, Drum Circle Leader

Nathaniel Viets-VanLear is a teaching artist from Chicago, IL. He has taught hand percussion in the Chicago land area for 5 years, and has led large group drumming circles at events from Minneapolis to New Orleans. Nathaniel has received formal training in both Conga and Djembe, and specializes in Latin Percussion. He is currently working on a project at Howard Community Center in Chicago where he does drumming workshops with fathers living in the Roger's Park area. Nathaniel is always looking for opportunities to spread his love of hand percussion to others.

As a writer and a speaker, Reggie Legend seeks to challenge and realign social norms as well as edify individuals by encouraging education, Biblical scripture and self-analysis through the power of words. Reggie has been a speaker & workshop facilitator for high school, college students and young adults for more than 10 yrs. He is also the author of a book titled "Steel Waters" -- a collection of poetry influenced by scripture and Hip Hop. Married with two children, Reggie is a resident of Elgin and is currently employed at Columbia College Chicago.

Bring a handheld percussion instrument!

2012 MLK Day of Service and Youth Leadership Conference REGISTRATION FORM
Please print neatly. Complete this registration form and mail it to: Youth Leadership AcademyMLK Registration, 410 Renner Drive, Elgin, IL 60123. You may also fax it to the YLA at 847-214-6914. Registrations are due Friday, January 6. The first 300 participants who register will receive a free 2012 MLK Day of Service T-shirt! GROUP LEADER Name of primary adult leader: _____________________________________________________________________________________ (Primary adult leader must be someone over the age of 21. All communication to the group will be done through this person!) Daytime phone number: _____________________________ Evening phone number: ________________________________________ Cell phone number: _____________________________________ E-mail address: ___________________________________________ Mailing address: __________________________________________________ City, state and zip: ______________________________ Adult T-shirt size (circle one): Small Medium Large XL XXL Age (circle one): Name of your group: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ (Please select your name based on the entity you are representing, such as Zion Lutheran Church, or Larkin High School Seniors or Girl Scout Troop 100 or Johnson Family.) Important notes:

Each group will be contacted the week of January 9th will their service project assignment for the morning of January 16. Please alert us to any special needs of any of your group participants so that we may assign your group accordingly. Please also let us know if any of your participants prefer a vegetarian lunch on January 16. Each group will be responsible for their own transportation to and from their service project. If your group is able to volunteer a vehicle and a driver to help with transporting of food donations on Friday, January 13, please let us know! We need help in this area!

GROUP PARTICIPANTS: YOUTH Name 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ Age School Attending Grade (7-12) T-shirt size (adult sizes)

_______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________ _______ ______________________________ _______________ ____________

10. ______________________________________

(If there are more than 10 youth in your group, great! Please attach a separate piece of paper listing all of this information for them. Thank you.)

ADDITIONAL ADULT LEADERS: (It is recommended, for safety reasons, that groups follow a minimum youth:adult ratio of 7:1.) Name 1. 2. 3. ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ T-shirt size (adult sizes) _______ _______ _______ Phone number: _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ E-mail address: _______________________ _______________________ _______________________

Meet some of the 2012 MLK Youth Leadership Conference Workshop Presenters!
Vance Blackfox is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, pursuing a Ph.D. Currently, Vance is a consultant in youth leadership development and diversity training. He is committed to justice regarding youth, diversity, and to teaching about Native American history, culture, and religion.
Darlene Harris teaches college prep classes at Elgin Community

THANK YOU to our Food Drive Partners!

Jewel Butera Elgin Fresh Market Walgreens Feeding Greater Elgin All Peoples Interfaith Food Pantry Centro de Informacin Community Crisis Center The Salvation Army Elgin South Elgin Food Pantry Westside Church of Christ Bethesda ChurchGod in Christ Bethlehem Lutheran Church Christ the Lord Lutheran Church Church of the Nazarene-Elgin Cornerstone United Methodist Church Elgin Bible Church Epworth United Methodist Church Evangelical Covenant Church First Baptist Church First Congregational Church First Presbyterian Church-USA Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren Messiah Lutheran Church Progressive Baptist Church Seventh-Day Adventist Church St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal St. Johns Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod Vineyard Christian Fellowship Zion Lutheran Church-ELCA Our Redeemer Free Methodist Church and many more to be announced!

Catherine (Cat) Gong and Rachel Witkovsky both hail from Central Pennsylvania. Both are recent college graduates who grew up in the Church of the Brethren, a traditional peace church devoted to nonviolence. They have found positions in Brethren Volunteer Service here in Elgin, Illinois and will be spending the year planning week long service trips for youth and the young at heart for this coming summer 2012.

College specializing in Learning Principles, Instructional Design and Training Management. She also works as the Academic Coordinator for the Upward Bound Program. Darlene enjoys working with young people to help them look at their life choices, the impact of responsibility and discover the power of making wise decisions.

. More workshop presenters will be announced!

THANK YOU to the Boys and Girls Club of Elgin and Meijer in Elgin for sponsoring the snacks and lunches for this event!