Governor Jack Markell offers his Dr. Martin Luther King Day message – highlighting the importance of service and volunteerism.
Governor’s Weekly Message
Governor Jack Markell offers his Martin Luther King Day message – highlighting the importance of service and volunteerism.
Full text of Governor Jack Markell’s weekly message:
“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said that shortly before he died, having himself lived a life of sacrifice and service.
This Monday, we celebrate for the 25th time the day named for Dr. King.
And all over the country, people will earn another measure of that greatness, by performing acts of service in Doctor King’s honor.
Here in Delaware, my wife Carla has made it one of her top priorities as first lady to put service squarely first. Or, as she says – “to make the First State the first in volunteering.”
In 2009, she recommended that we replace our inaugural ball with a weekend of service.
In 2010, Delaware celebrated its first formal “Week of Service.”
And 2011, we’re off to a strong start –with people going to volunteerdelaware.org to find ways to put their time and talent to work.
The stories people share are inspiring – the children who’ve worked to handwrite cards and make care packages to our soldiers serving abroad; mentors dedicating their time to help kids discover their potential and so many working to help families focused on getting back to work.
Stories about small business owners volunteering their time to help fellow entrepreneurs, parents spending time strengthening public schools or tutors looking to help people years out of school sharpen their skills.
Whether it was homes built, meals served, parks cleaned or care packages delivered, time after time, person after person came away with the same insight – “I started volunteering to give a little, but I keep volunteering because of how much I get from it.”
When you’re volunteering, what we have in common becomes so much more important than what we don’t. Political party, hometown, age – all of that melts away in service of the service we do for each other.
As Martin Luther King said – everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.
Thanks again for all you do to keep Delaware, moving forward.
