Cal Poly Humboldt, Y.E.S. Mobilize Community for MLK Day Service
Cal Poly Humboldt and Youth Educational Services will hold a Martin Luther King Day of Service on Monday, January 19, 2026 from 8 a.m. to noon, inviting students, staff, faculty and community members to volunteer at campus and community sites. The event aims to strengthen local nonprofit capacity, provide service opportunities ranging from food pantry support to land trust work, and lower participation barriers by offering transportation and breakfast.
Cal Poly Humboldt and Youth Educational Services are organizing a Martin Luther King Day of Service on Monday, January 19, 2026 from 8 a.m. to noon, offering volunteer projects at both campus and community locations. The morning will include transportation and breakfast for participants, and organizers have emphasized the event as “a day on, not a day off,” encouraging broad campus and community participation.
Sample partner projects include Black Humboldt, the Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods, Centro del Pueblo, the Jefferson Community Center, the Northcoast Regional Land Trust, and OhSnap! Food Pantry on campus. Volunteer tasks will range from food distribution and pantry logistics to outdoor stewardship and youth program support. By pairing university resources with local nonprofit needs, the event is designed to expand capacity during a single coordinated morning of service.
For Humboldt County residents, the event lowers common barriers to volunteering by providing transportation and breakfast, which can be particularly important for students and families without easy access to reliable transport. Mobilizing volunteers on a federal holiday channels community energy into practical support for organizations that serve food security, youth services, housing access and environmental stewardship. Those services in turn relieve pressure on local government budgets by supplementing staffing and program delivery during a concentrated time period.
The partnership positions Cal Poly Humboldt as an anchor institution in local civic life, offering students experiential learning and nonprofits an infusion of volunteer labor. Over the long term, repeated service days can build civic capital, strengthen nonprofit operations and create pipelines between campus volunteers and local employers and service providers. Residents who want to participate or learn more can sign up and find project details at the event page, https://www.humboldt.edu/ccbl/news/mlk-day-service-january-19th-2026.
