TOLEDO, Ohio — Northwest Ohioans are making Monday a day 'on,' rather than a day 'off.'
After the city of Toledo and the University of Toledo hosted their MLK Unity Day Celebration Monday morning, volunteers helped pack 200 winter kits for families in need.
The celebration took place at Savage Arena on the UT campus.
The theme of this year's 19th annual celebration, which honors slain Civil Rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, is "Dream, Believe, Do." The service work that was done at Lucas County Children Services (LCCS) is part of the 'Do.'
High school students from more than a dozen Toledo-area schools helped put the community donated items such as hats, scarves, gloves and socks into a backpack.
"It makes me feel good to be able to help someone out who's in need. It feels like a reward to be kind to people," Sarah Ziemke, a senior at Springfield High School, said.
"There's so much that people do for us as students in high school. As community members, we should be able to give back without a reward," Taiya Miller, a student at Springfield High School, added.
"We are so grateful for the community being so generous with donating items," Nicole Williams, the Assessment Department Manager at LCCS, said. "Dr. Martin Luther King, he represented a lot. Freedom, equality and so it's just so nice to help out whenever you can."
The backpacks will be on the streets on Tuesday and will be distributed to families involved with children's services.
If you'd like to become involved in the work at Lucas County Children Services, contact Kevin Milliken, Public Information Specialist at 419-213-3634 or kevin.milliken@jfs.ohio.gov.