Macon organization recognized Monday as series of MLK events detailed

A local organization was highlighted Monday for epitomizing the principles of Martin Luther King Jr.

A kick-off for a series of events honoring King was held in Macon as blankets arrived for a service project helping the homeless. The Mentors' Project, a Macon-based mentoring and service organization aimed at young people, was chosen to mark the start of honoring the civil rights leader over the next year because the group's work ties into the ideals that King espoused, said Elaine Lucas, chairwoman of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.

This week, the Mentors' Project will distribute blankets, gloves, socks, can openers and mugs to 250 homeless people. Children will receive stuffed animals.

"I can think of no other organization that exemplifies the work and memory more than the Mentors' Project," Lucas said during a news conference at First Presbyterian Church's chapel. "You see they're not just about the talking the talk. They're about walking that walk."

The agency also matches up volunteers with Bibb County students to help provide guidance. The goals include improving graduation rates, said June O'Neal, executive director of the Mentors' Project.

"We want our children to be academically as well socially successful," she said. "They have to learn that service is part of what you do to be successful."

In the next several months, more than 20 events will be held to celebrate King, including an Emancipation Proclamation service at Unity Baptist Church on Jan. 1. There will be 13 events in mid-January on the days around King's birthday.

"We just want everyone to get into their minds and into their hearts that this celebration needs to continue," Lucas said. "Dr. King as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, as a man of God and a man of peace is worthy of emulation and worthy of honor."

To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter

To view the calender of events sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, visit http://www.maconbibb.us/mlk/

To learn more about the Mentors' Project call 954-4346.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 10:17 PM with the headline "Macon organization recognized Monday as series of MLK events detailed ."