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Celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. with Spot Coolers and Electric Heaters

Posted by: Tina Behnke on Jan 16, 2012

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of the late, great, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Many argue that MLK Day should be a day of service but I disagree. 

Why limit our service to just one day?

Why limit service to just time?

There are endless ways for ALL of us to donate our time, talent or treasure for the benefit of our local community and the greater good of all.  And I'm not just talking about PERSONAL time.  Why not start something at your office or within your industry?

It was Dr. King who posed this question to all of us:

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'"

So.... what are you doing for others?  Many of us help individually through our personal lives: 

  • We volunteer through and donate to our places of worship. 

  • We help out at local soup kitchens and homeless shelters.

  • We give of our time to help at our kids' schools.

  • We purchase gifts for charitable organizations during the holidays.

If you have the day "off" from work on MLK Day you may be planning to hit the MLK Day sales but why not make the day really count by doing something for one of the charitable organizations you support throughout the year? 

Just think of it -- you'll be "saving" a whole lot more money if you don't spend it in the first place!  Turn you day "off" into a day "on" and do an act of service.

Even if you have to work on MLK Day, you can still make that day "on" count.  Talk to your boss or the HR department and try to organize an MLK Day of service

Don't worry if you can't organize the work to be done on the actual MLK Day of service.  That shouldn't stop you from making a difference. 

There are so many ways you can contribute to your community:

  • Sponsor a little league sports team by contributing money or buying team shirts that have the sponsor logos.

  • Contact the high school Athletic Director and see if you can help sponsor a scholarship for athletes wanting to pursue higher education.

  • Coordinate your company's own "day of caring" and assemble a team of volunteers to work at a charitable organization.

  • Talk to HR and see if they will allow one day to donate your time in support of an approved charitable organization.

  • Organize a donation drive for a local preschool, an animal shelter, food bank or even a reserve unit that is assigned overseas -- the recipients will be so appreciative of your generosity.

Check out these great resources and toolkits to help create your own service opportunity.

So what do spot coolers and electric heaters have to do with MLK Day? 

More than you think!  We couldn't close the office on MLK Day or give any employees the day off because we have commitments to trade shows and customers that don't "take the day off."  We make "giving" a part of our corporate culture.  Although we can't always afford to give monetary donations, we do try to donate our products and rental services within our community and industry. 

Here's a partial list of how AirPac serves others:

  • Donate the use of portable spot coolers for our Annual Apple Blossom Festival.

  • Sponsor an Indoor Soccer Team each year.

  • Sponsor our local High Schools with year book ads and donations to sports programs.

  • Sponsor the Knights of Colombus Annual Golf Tournament with a monetary donation for the scholarship fund.

  • Make a yearly monetary donation to a local church to help area families with expenses at Christmas.

Are you feeling inspired?  Challenged?  Now go on and do something about it!  Make your mark and honor the life and legecy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tags: Portable Electric Heaters, Spot Coolers, Holidays, MLK Day