Staff reports

Each year The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association sponsors a full range of activities honoring the memory of Dr. King. One of the organization’s key aims is to keep Dr. King’s dream alive by inspiring members of younger generations to help bring it closer to reality.

The events marking the 2010 King holiday will begin on Thursday, January 14 with a Youth Celebration held in Lipinsky Auditorium on the campus of UNC Asheville at 4 p.m.

This year twenty-eight outstanding youth were nominated by peers, teachers, pastors, and community leaders to receive the Martin Luther King Youth Award. Each nominee will be recognized at the celebration and honored for their leadership. Oralene Simmons, Chair of the King Association, says, “We especially want to celebrate the youth in our community who are contributing to Dr. King’s dream.”

The joint sponsorship is designed in part to encourage local teens to become familiar with the University and think of it as part of their future. Deirdre Wiggins, the University’s Director of Retiree Services, is active with the MLK committee. She notes that the campus, located several miles from downtown, is unknown to inner-city teens, many of whom don’t imagine a college education as part of their future. Mrs. Simmons and University Provost Jane Fernandes hope to break down that barrier by inviting the high school and middle-school students onto the campus. To that end, undergraduate leaders will participate in the youth-themed program and offer the teens mentoring and campus orientation.

“UNC Asheville, one of the true gems of Western North Carolina, has been something of a hidden gem to an essential part of our community,” remarked Provost Fernandes. “We want local youth to see our campus as the welcoming and inclusive place it is designed to be.”

The youth celebration, which is free and open to the public, also includes music and live entertainment as well as refreshments donated by the University. Support for the program is also provided by Asheville High School and other area organizations, businesses, and individuals.

Mrs. Simmons notes, “We would not be able to honor these youth the way we do without the contributions of many dedicated people who extend their time and generosity beyond measure. Deirdre Wiggins opened the door to the University for the first time. Provost Fernandes and her husband James, Angela Jones, Jacqueline and James King, and David Gantt – they are all crucial to making this event a success.”