Volunteers joined together Monday for City Year Chicago’s MLK Day of Service to beautify Morgan Park High School in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s memory.
City Year, a nonprofit focusing on K-12 education support, pairs AmeriCorps members ages 17 to 25 with schools to provide tutoring and mentoring to students. Chicago’s chapter serves 14,000 students across 30 schools, according to Valencia Koker, the senior vice president and executive director of City Year Chicago.
Around 550 volunteers joined the more than 200 City Year Chicago AmeriCorps members for the day of service, Koker said. Attendees worked on over 30 different projects to decorate and enhance the school, such as painting murals, making friendship bracelets, decorating pencil bags and making framed decor.
Koker said City Year Chicago has hosted days of service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in years past at different schools, depending on the needs of the buildings, to honor the Civil Rights leader and pastor. The organization views the holiday, Koker said, “as a day on,” not a day off.
“What other way can we really honor the life and legacy of Dr. King outside of service?” Koker said.
The day began with a welcome ceremony filled with cheers from volunteers and performances by Morgan Park High School band members, dancers and cheerleaders. City Year staff and volunteers spoke about the nonprofit’s impact and welcomed elected officials — including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Ald. Matt O’Shea and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton — to share why service is important to them.
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Aylah Spencer, 16, foreground, and teammates of the Morgan Park High School marching band majorettes perform during an MLK Day event at the school on Jan. 19, 2026, in Chicago. City Year members and volunteers participated in an assembly before undertaking various projects around the school. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
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Aylah Spencer, 16, foreground, and teammates of the Morgan Park High School marching band majorettes perform during an MLK Day event at the school on Jan. 19, 2026, in Chicago. City Year members and volunteers participated in an assembly before undertaking various projects around the school. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Stratton said that when she thinks of service, she thinks of her dad, who marched alongside King from Montgomery to Selma. She’s saddened that the voting rights her father fought are still under attack, Stratton said, but she is hopeful for the future.
“When I walk into a room like this and see so many of you who are standing up saying, ‘I want to serve, I want to do something, I want to give back,’” Stratton said, “that is an example of why we’re going to be OK.”
Morgan Park High School Principal Daniel Kuzma spoke to the crowd of attendees about the school’s mission and the accomplishments of its students. A few years ago, Morgan Park’s graduation rate was 78% — below average among Chicago public schools — but last year, the graduation rate reached 90%, Kuzma said.
Kuzma said he sees the impact the City Year tutoring and academic support has on his students.
“That is worth its weight in gold to be able to have that resource,” Kuzma told the Tribune.
Alanna Brown, a City Year Chicago AmeriCorps member, works at James Madison Elementary School with sixth through eighth graders in language arts. She made paper stars at the service event to go inside encouragement bags for students taking tests.
Brown said she had a City Year mentor in high school that affected her, and she decided to become a corps member to provide that same support for other students.
“The bond that I have with my students, it’s just unexplainable,” Brown said. “It makes me so happy every time I see my students.”
