THE CITIZEN BLOG
THE CITIZEN BLOG
Honoring a Legacy Through Action — Reflecting on the 2026 MLK Days of Service
This January, Atlanta showed what it means to lead with service. In honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our community came together not just to reflect, but to act, turning Dr. King’s vision of love in action into meaningful impact across metro Atlanta.
From January 12–19, thousands of volunteers answered the call to serve with compassion and purpose. Neighbors rolled up their sleeves for community cleanups, educational outreach, food distribution, and environmental stewardship, demonstrating the power of collective action when a city moves together.
This January, Atlanta showed what it means to lead with service. In honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our community came together not just to reflect, but to act, turning Dr. King’s vision of love in action into meaningful impact across metro Atlanta.
From January 12–19, thousands of volunteers answered the call to serve with compassion and purpose. Neighbors rolled up their sleeves for community cleanups, educational outreach, food distribution, and environmental stewardship, demonstrating the power of collective action when a city moves together.
In partnership with more than 50 nonprofits and schools, Hands On Atlanta supported 150+ service projects throughout the region. Across five marquee volunteer activations, volunteers packed 60,000 meals and assembled 4,000 comfort kits for neighbors in need. The week concluded with the MLK Sunday Supper, where nearly 300 civic, community, and corporate leaders gathered for an evening of connection and honest dialogue centered on health equity.
Together, Atlanta honored Dr. King’s legacy the way he intended, through service that strengthens our city and builds a more just, caring future for all.
SUNDAY SUPPER 1/18
12th Annual MLK Sunday Supper presented by Coca-Cola
300 of Atlanta’s most influential community, civic and corporate leaders joined Hands On Atlanta at the Atlanta History Center for an evening of dialogue and discourse on health equity.
Atendee’s received a video welcome from Senator Warnock, and the night’s emcee was Cheryl Preheim, morning anchor at 11Alive. Presenters included Corwin N. Harper, President & CEO of Kaiser Permanente, Niya Randall, Lead Facilitator of Thriving Together Atlanta, Dr. Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH, Professor and Chair of Community Health and Preventive Medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine.
Entertainment was provided by award winning Violinist Joy Black, with an incredible performance by Out of Hand Theater, Conditional Care. Conditional Care was written and directed by Nikki Young, starring Markell Williams.
MARQUEE PROJECTS
Comfort Kit Pack @ Legacy Park
200 Volunteers from Salesforce, Piedmont Healthcare, and AT&T joined Hands On Atlanta & Restoring One’s Hope at Legacy Decatur to pack 2000 comfort kits.
Comfort Kit Pack @ Guardian Works
Over 200 volunteers from OneDigital, Atlanta Dream, Fiserv, Midtown Rotary, Delta Dental, 11alive and The Home Depot Foundation joined us at Guardian Works to pack comfort kits and create fleece blankets for our partners at Restoring One’s Hope!
M4K Pack @ Hope-Hill Elementary with Delta.
175 Delta volunteers met us at Hope Hill Elementary to pack 2000 meals for Atlanta Schools! Recipients include Hope Hill Elementary, Usher-Collier Elementary, Peyton Forest Elementary, Scott Elementary, Kindezi at Gideons, and The Ansley School.
Meal Pack @ Monday Night Garage
Over 150 volunteers from Target, Eversheds Sutherland, Alston & Bird, Chick-fil-A, SouthState, and King & Spalding joined us and Meals for Hope to pack 60,000 meals at Monday Night Garage! Recipients include Atlanta Community Food Bank, Restoring One’s Hope Atlanta, Hope Hill Elementary, Usher-Collier Elementary, Peyton Forest Elementary, Scott Elementary, Kindezi at Gideons, and The Ansley School.
THANK YOU TO OUR 2026 SPONSORS
Ready to continue doing something good? Don’t miss LOVE Your Park, February 1 - 28, 2026! Powered in partnership by Park Pride, the City of Atlanta Department of Parks & Recreation, Hands On Atlanta & Trees Atlanta. Join us for this citywide volunteer initiative for hands-on projects to help care for, beautify, and strengthen Atlanta’s parks. Let’s show our parks some love all month long!
Atlanta Unites Over Supper and Service
“And one of the great liabilities of life is that all too many people find themselves living amid a great period of social change, and yet they fail to develop the new attitudes, the new mental responses, that the new situation demands. They end up sleeping through a revolution.”
Reverend Dr. King's passion for service and helping others is at the core of our work. Our mission and values to ignite a passion for service and create life-long community volunteers through civic engagement, diversity and inclusion, community partnerships, and the pursuit of excellence read more like a quote from one of his iconic speeches than something we try to pursue everyday.
To say the MLK Day holiday is important to us is an understatement. Our small, but mighty team, dedicates months of our year to planning and executing a series of events to try and honor his legacy and commitment to service the best we can. Because this year is the 50th Anniversary of his assassination and the MLK Day of service fell on his birthday, we went big and asked you to go big with us. Once again, you stepped up and 1,800 volunteers showed up to serve at 30 projects across metro Atlanta!
Special thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, nonprofits, and schools who came together to help make it all happen. Keep reading to view more details and to view photos from our 2018 MLK Day events.
2018 hands on atlanta signature sunday supper
On Sunday, January 14, 2018, nearly 200 corporate and civic leaders came together at The Gathering Spot to break bread and barriers at the Hands On Atlanta Signature Sunday Supper. Hosted by 11Alive's Cheryl Preheim, the evening was full of meaningful dialogue and featured a moving performance from actor Leon Rogers, as he relived portions of Reverend Dr. King's "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution."
The focus of the night was a fireside chat with Prosperity Now's Dedrick Asante-Muhammad and Nathaniel Smith of Partnership for Southern Equity. The two shared the stage to explore Reverend Dr. King's "Poor People's Campaign" and take a closer look at the issue of economic inequality then and now. Dedrick brought a national perspective, while Nathaniel held a local lens on the challenges (and work) being done right here in Atlanta. Other speakers included Jay Cranman, Hands On Atlanta President and CEO, V.P. of Community Relations for Coca-Cola North America, Lori George Billingsley, and the CEO of Points of Light, Natalye Paquin.
The diverse room of attendees had a chance to then discuss the issues presented to learn from each other and form some solutions on how to solve the problem of economic inequality.
Watch the Signature Sunday Supper in it's entirety:
The Signature Sunday Supper was complimented by 50 self-hosted Sunday Suppers across metro Atlanta. In partnership with Civic Dinners, changemakers stepped up to host and attend these unique and fun events, sharing dinner and dialogue. Final numbers of attendees are still rolling in, but you can see some of the highlights here.
2018 mlk day of service
To celebrate Reverend Dr. King's birthday, it was back to what we do best: rally ATLiens in service! In total we had 30 projects and almost 1900 volunteers come out from English Ave. all the way up Buford Highway.
It was cold, but that didn't stop volunteers from making their impact felt across the city. Parks, nature preserves and schools hosted several beautification projects, building benches, gardens, painting, and more! Volunteers delivered meals to seniors, planted trees at several cemeteries, packed medical supplies, and more.
The day of service was larger than anticipated, thanks to the incredible support from the 20+ corporate sponsors who came out help us celebrate. A huge thank you and special shout out to our title sponsor The Coca-Cola Company, who's been supporting our MLK Day of Service efforts for almost 30 years!
Inspired to act? Consider making a donation or sign up to volunteer!
MLK as a Role Model for Business
As CEO of Dragon Army, a mobile and innovation company headquartered in Atlanta, I believe I have a responsibility to not only rally my team to support our community, but also expose them to new ideas. To challenge their built-in stereotypes and prejudices, and to expand their ability to accept and cherish the differences in their peers.
It’s been over 55 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. led his famous March on Washington. Standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the world watched as Dr. King gave his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. In his dream, Dr. King spoke of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all, regardless of race, religion or background.
At Dragon Army, we stand for the ideals that Dr. King compelled the world to see; that all people are to be respected and cherished for their diverse backgrounds, not discriminated against because of them. And while he started the march, it’s our job to continue it.
Atlanta strives to carry on Dr. King’s dream today, and that’s one of the many reasons I love this city. It’s a bustling, growing metropolitan that credits its rise to its diverse community, not in spite of it. Atlanta is home to The Center for Civil and Human Rights, and it is home to the Atlanta BeltLine — the most extensive transportation and economic development effort this city has ever seen, and among the largest, most widespread urban redevelopment programs happening in the United States. Atlanta is also a tremendous business community whose bedrock is home to the Civil Rights Movement.
If you believe, like I do, that companies have a responsibility to do good in the world and give back to their community, then there’s no better place to run a business than Atlanta, Georgia — the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the region where he made his biggest impact.
Check out all of our volunteer opportunities and help live Dr. King's dream.
After fighting for human rights for all Americans, Dr. King began to focus on employment and corporations as the next evolution of equality. He believed that companies have a responsibility to be forces of good in the world, and that their influence could make powerful change. We share the same belief at Dragon Army.
As CEO of Dragon Army, a mobile and innovation company headquartered in Atlanta, I believe I have a responsibility to not only rally my team to support our community, but also expose them to new ideas. To challenge their built-in stereotypes and prejudices, and to expand their ability to accept and cherish the differences in their peers.
One of our company values is “Celebrate Diversity.” We believe that diversity is key to our ability to build a strong, accepting culture. Diversity in backgrounds, experiences, demographics and viewpoints. We celebrate our differences and see them as strengths that help us move closer to creating a better world.
Reflecting on the last 50+ years since Dr. King was so unfairly taken from us, I recall the speech that Bobby Kennedy gave the evening of April 4th, 1964. He said:
… we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and to replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand with compassion and love.
What we need in the United States is... love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or they be black.
We all have heroes, people that we look up to for inspiration and guidance. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a hero to all of us. Not just as citizens of Atlanta or the United States, but of this great world in which we’re all connected. He was a beacon of light and hope, taken from us too early, and it’s incumbent upon us to follow his lead.
He started the march, and it’s our responsibility to continue it.
This guest post is from Jeff Hilimire, the Co-Founder and CEO of Dragon Army; a mobile and innovation company headquartered in Atlanta. Learn more about their work at dragonarmy.com.