Martin Luther King March Outreach

Each year the Dayton community marches to remember and to celebrate the freedom Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exemplified and passionately proclaimed.

 

We serve our community at the end of the MLK Jr. March. The city gathers in an area then marches to Courthouse Square. We join the celebration and serve the community by providing free coffee and hot chocolate.

Where: Courthouse Square Dayton

When: 11am Monday, January 17, 2011. Come a little early to park (bring quarters for the parking meters).

How: Wear warm clothes, gloves, and a smile. This is a fast-paced event. We serve until we run out of coffee and hot chocolate.

Tip: We discovered it is better to take the time to pre-load the cups with Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate. Buy at Sam's Club $5.80 for box of 60 1 cup servings. We also use a 12 oz cups bought in bulk at Sam's Club. We re-use the box to store the hundreds of cups of Hot Chocolate powder along side the cups we use for coffee. Believe me it is a time / stress, saver when hundreds of people are putting their hands out reaching for the Hot Chocolate. 

On the morning of we put hot water into our weekend coffee pots. The water stays hot for several hours. We then load up everything in wagons. Load the wagons on the truck and head downtown. When we arrive we unload wagons, set up tables and wait for the cold and grateful marchers. Cost for outreach touching around 700 people $100. Good bang for buck.

This outreach is great fun and gratefully received. The outreach can be used at college Campuses, High Schools or where ever people gather.

 

Stack cups inside each other to keep hot chocolate powder sealed.

You can cut more than one pack to save time. Cut, pour powder into cups, stack cups.

Use bag from box of cups to store filled cups, then place bag into box along with extra cups for coffee.

When bag is full of powder filled cups twist bag to seal.

Place filled cups into box with extra cups. Then re-tape the box top to seal. Store in a dry / cool space. 

On the day of outreach grab box, hot water, stir sticks, tables and free signs and head to your location. Have team members pour water or coffee into cups and hand to grateful people. Don't forget sugar and coffee creamer. 

A connect card is always a great connection point.