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University of Illinois at Chicago
01/20/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 01/20/2026 13:42
Photo gallery: Students volunteer on MLK Jr. Day of Service
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no classes are held at UIC. But each year on the holiday commemorating the civil rights leader's birthday, dozens of UIC students volunteer their time at local organizations in Chicago, embodying King's vision of service and community improvement.
UIC Student Leadership and Civic Engagement organizes the annual projects. On MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19 this year, students shoveled snow, trimmed trees, picked up trash and cleaned toys at the garden of Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool with a gardening program for 3- to 6-year-olds diagnosed with autism or Down syndrome.
Another group of student volunteers went to Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, where they helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations. King preached at Stone Temple Baptist Church in 1966, when he came to the city with his Chicago Freedom Movement to bring attention to injustices Black people faced in housing.
Student Leadership and Civic Engagement will continue the recognition of King's legacy with the annual MLK Student Leadership Conference on Saturday, Jan. 31. It's open to all UIC students. There will be presentations and talks on building community and bridging cultural divides, as well as participatory workshops such as a drum circle, a print workshop, a knitting project led by Jane Addams Hull-House Museum to make winter accessories for people experiencing homelessness and more. UIC Library staff will read the speech King gave at Soldier Field on July 10, 1966, about the Chicago Freedom Movement. See the full schedule and register.
Click through the gallery below to see photos of students in action at this year's MLK Jr. Day of Service.
UIC students get ready to head out for one of two volunteer assignments on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, UIC students helped clean up the garden at Limes Smiles for Miles, a preschool for children with autism and Down syndrome. (Photo: UIC Creative and Digital Services).
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
At Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale, students helped clean the church's storage space and organized donations on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2026. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
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