UM students plant vegetables in the Miami Children’s Initiative’s community garden.

Adding further truth to Martin Luther King Jr.’s socially conscious statement that “everybody can be great, because anybody can serve,” more than 100 University of Miami students volunteered their time and efforts for two worthwhile causes on January 21 as part of the MLK Day of Service.

Assisted by community residents, about 40 of the students removed weeds, spread soil, and planted herbs and vegetables at the Miami Children’s Initiative’s community garden located near Charles R. Drew Elementary School in Liberty City.

Twenty miles north in Pembroke Park, a group of about 60 students packaged more than 20,000 meals at Feeding South Florida, a food bank that serves Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties.

United Black Students, Multicultural Student Affairs, and the Butler Center for Volunteer Service and Leadership Development sponsored the service day.