Celebrate Acts of Service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Today is MLK Day and a National Day of Service. Not only do we celebrate King’s legacy and reflect on his powerful contributions to our nation, we honor his memory by acting on his call to the service of others. When we recognize that the numerous gifts made abundant in our lives come to us unearned, entitlement falls away, and our mindset turns to grateful living. This allows us to see the difficulties experienced by others as equally undeserved and creates a drive in us to make sure that all people have access to the safety, rights, comfort, and privileges that we might enjoy.

The impact of grateful living is that it cultivates a sense of sufficiency and abundance, instilling in us a desire to serve others with the courage and commitment that supports meaningful change. In a 1968 sermon, Dr. King shared, “If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, then my living will not be in vain….I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others so that we can make of this old world a new world.” 

Kingdom Trails recognizes our own impact on the local community, both economic and social. Mountain biking is an expensive sport that can create an economic barrier for youth participation who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. We find that KT's role in providing opportunities to youth is vital to the growth of a healthy community, as our organization is a community-built, led, and based non-profit organization. 

Today, we’d like to honor many of our partners who offer opportunities for service through programming for marginalized groups that promote well-being, diversity, equity, and inclusion. These opportunities contribute to the KT mission and uplift our core values that define KT in our shared community; “We prioritize access and inclusion,” and “We embrace outdoor recreation, health, and safety as a shared responsibility.” 

• 
  KT partners with Powered Magazine, a local nonprofit and quarterly publication whose mission is to increase BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) access and expand participation in outdoor activities by combining education and training in a safe and comfortable environment to celebrate joy of being outdoors. In 2023, KT and Powered partnered to create an affinity space that provided programming for BIPOC youth and adults to learn the joys of mountain biking in a safe and supportive environment, with plans to offer this programming opportunity in 2024!  Read more about the program here! 
• KT partners with and supports the Kingdom East School District bike club and summer camp programs to provide trail access for disadvantaged youth from many different backgrounds in the NEK. This youth program offers after-school and summer camp opportunities. It breaks financial and cultural barriers to allow youth to learn how to mountain bike while promoting a healthy lifestyle outdoors. Find out more about the program here! 
• KT partners with Northwoods Stewardship Center and Burke Mountain to offer KT Kids Ride, a weekly summer bike ride hosted for youth ages 7-14. This ride is free to KT members and presented at the low cost of $5 for non-members. The program is a wonderful educational tool for youth to learn about the KT trails, their surrounding environment, and healthy outdoor exercise. Find out more about the program here! 
• KT also supports Northwoods Stewardship Center through a scholarship program to give more youth the opportunity to participate in their mountain bike camp. Summer camp program for students with a passion for exploring and understanding the natural world while developing technical mountain biking skills in a safe, fun, and adventurous environment, along with sharing the Ride With Gratitude campaign for sustainable trails and communities. Find out more about the program here! 
• KT supports Kingdom Kids, a volunteer local nonprofit that works to provide access to the trails for youth through KT memberships and Burke Mountain pass scholarships! Find out more about the program here! 

These are a few programs KT participates in, but we know that many programs, organizations, schools, and individuals are doing their part to make outdoor recreation more accessible in the NEK! Contact us at info@kingdomtrails.org if you have any questions on how you can get involved in community programming with KT or our partner organizations! 

RESOURCES: 

Read more about MLK’s “Beloved Community”: https://thekingcenter.org/about-tkc/the-king-philosophy/ 

Read more about “Grateful Living”: https://grateful.org/resource/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-to-serve/ 

Read more about the history behind MLK Day, and how you can celebrate it: https://www.dosomething.org/us/articles/martin-luther-king-jr-day