Willard Lariscy will spend most of his workday Monday getting his hands dirty volunteering at the Lifecycle Building Center, a nonprofit that sells salvaged building materials at a discount.

“There’s a lot of sweat equity going out in the community,” said Lariscy, managing director of the Atlanta office of Perkins + Will, the international global architecture and design firm. “Martin Luther King (Jr.) lived in Atlanta and that provides an inspiring framework. It’s a great day to rally around someone whose life was about service.”

The national observance of King’s birth has become an important day for nonprofits. In the spirit of King, thousands of Atlantans will hit the streets to plant gardens, make home repairs, read to children, visit seniors and feed the hungry.

King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, strongly believed in community service and the greater good.

Nonprofit staffers say they expect to see even more people pitch in this year as people become motivated by events in the news such as the refugee crisis, incidents of excessive force by police and waiting lists at some organization that provide food for seniors.

The challenge, though, is how to keep that momentum going after the federal holiday.

Read the full story here.

Related:

The Making of the King Holiday

Bernice King: We’ve been distracted

About the Author

Keep Reading

Blooper celebrates the Atlanta Brave’s 5-0 win over the New York Mets during a MLB game Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at Truist Park. This year, the venue is a first-time host of the MLB All-Star game. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Credit: Daniel Varnado for the AJC

Featured

Rebecca Ramage-Tuttle, assistant director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, says the the DOE rule change is “a slippery slope” for civil rights. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC