Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services

The call to provide for others during the holiday season is great. It’s even greater when you put out that call in passing conversation when you discover you are running short on turkeys-and someone immediately steps up and says ‘we can help!’ That ‘someone’ is Alex Laguerra Sierra, CAPS & Miream Sierra, MBA . Not only did they provide the resources through Amherst Innovative Living, LLC , they SHOWED up to play a role in our largest pantry turnout ever-347 participants! Thank you for your donation, your time & your caring smiles. Thank you. It takes a village to raise one! And the lift these smiles and generosity made today cannot be understated. Now, more than ever, to unify around serving ALL of our neighbors in a manner of dignity and kindness uplifts all! Happy Holidays! If you have an offering to give back, take it. Find the time to: serve a meal, offer a seat, provide a job, be a mentor, provide a gift, bake a special recipe, recycle clothing, and/or offer your monetary support - no matter how big or small - it will go a long way in shaping a future! #shapingfutures #transforminggenerations

#GivingTuesday is December 3! ??How to bring Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community to life across Western Massachusetts? Join us on our Be Love in the 4-1-3 journey and share how you give love to build Dr. King's Beloved Community. ??Matthew Bannister of PeoplesBank gives love this Giving Tuesday by "SUPPORTING COMMUNITY"! And many thanks to a generous gift by PeoplesBank, your gift will be matched! (Up to the first $2,500 donated.) At Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services (MLKFS), we are dedicated to nurturing youth and families, empowering each with essential skills and opportunities through: Food security. Education. College Readiness. Nutrition & Wellness. Youth Development. Mental Health. Arts & Culture. YOU can be a part of this transformative journey in shaping futures by making your own meaningful monetary donation. https://lnkd.in/eb4VJJw5

???Have you seen our latest newsletter???? ??Discover the incredible impact we’re making and the important work we’re doing. Check out this month’s edition and join our online community to help shape futures with us! ?? Read the newsletter and sign up #ShapeAFuture #TransformingGenerations #GiveLove #LiveLove #belove413

Want to be inspired? Our newsletter sign-up is open! Sign up for our email to learn how we are shaping futures across the region. Together, we will forge a path of helping the region achieve peace, social and economic justice, self-determination, self-actualization, and self-sufficiency. As a multicultural and multiservice agency standing as a beacon of hope in the heart of Springfield, we remain dedicated to being the keepers of Dr. King’s Dream in Western Massachusetts. Empowered with knowledge, you can shape futures with us! Head to our homepage to sign up: https://lnkd.in/gBrgbKEc #ShapeTheFuture #PeaceAndJustice #SocialJustice #EconomicJustice #SelfDetermination #Empowerment #EconomicJustice #SelfDetermination #Empowerment #CommunitySupport #Multicultural #BeaconOfHope #DrKingsDream #WesternMass #KnowledgeIsPower

??Award winning day spent with some key staff who make our transformative work come alive! Today, our Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services team celebrated receiving a Peer Provider Award at this year’s 49th Annual Convention & Expo, Envision the Possibilities, held by the Provider’s Council being in Boston! We want to thank the Square One (Springfield Day Nursery) team for making this beautiful nomination & subsequent award & recognition possible. As a result, members of our team participated in meaningful dialogues and workshops and we met some new funder connections. Our CEO, Shannon M. Rudder, MBA , proudly accepted the Award reminding the full house of the relevance and richness of our community-centered work steeped in a legacy of impact. #PeerExcellenceAward #MLKJrFamilyServices #ExcellenceInService #CommunityImpact #MakingADifference #LegacyOfImpact #ServiceToCommunity #EmpoweringFamilies #HonoringExcellence

We are proud to see this spotlight of Wil Morales of Monson Savings Bank who serves on our board and Finance Committee. Wil is steadfast and SHOWS up when asked but he shows up with intentionality and ready to get to work - whether that means setting up an event, working on projects with the kids, or working on our Finance Committee oversight, Wil is an impactful addition to our team. Wil embodies the mission of Monson Savings Bank where helping people save, businesses prosper, and communities benefit is at the core of who he is. #boardleadership #volunteer #communitydriven

Our Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services board is comprised of individuals who represent diverse communities and ALL are defined by the service and good they give to our surrounding communities. Rania is no exception! We are thrilled to see Rania bring all of her contagiously kind & caring work ethic to the work of Glenmeadow ! There she will gloriously raise the level of spirit and dignity that comes with aging. Congratulations Rania! You continue to shine a light on all those around you, building bridges and creating lasting community connections. Here’s to building the beloved community!

"PeoplesBank exemplifies an exceptional commitment to community by consistently responding to calls for action," explained Shannon M. Rudder, MBA, CEO of Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services in Springfield, Mass. Their proactive approach and focus on meaningful reinvestments truly strengthen and uplift our evolving neighborhoods. At MLKFS, we deeply appreciate their unwavering support and partnership, and we look forward to a collaborative future that continues to enhance our community." Thank you PeoplesBank for your steadfast partnership by committing TIME AND RESOURCES to fulfilling our mission. Thank you and congratulations on the recognition of this very work. When you invest with Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services you are nurturing and empowering the aspirations of individuals, families, and?youth?to achieve new realities of peace,?social and economic justice, self-determination, self-actualization, and self-sufficiency. Together, we are building Dr. King's beloved community. Together, we are shaping futures. Chrissy Kiddy Matthew Bannister #shapingfutures #belovedcommunity #community

It was our honor to host a visit and tour with Holyoke Community College President George Timmons. The moment he and Shannon M. Rudder, MBA, our President & CEO met, they had an immediate connection around leadership rooted in community and education. It became clear that their respective constituents are at the heart of every decision; and these constituents- our neighbors, students, families - are better served because of a basic understanding and value to knowing that there exist multiple pathways to success. From his roots as an HBCU graduate from Norfolk University to his role as an educator and mentor, we found many synergies and pathways for success as HCC as a partner to MLKFS. Thank you both for your leadership and we cannot wait to see where your synergies lead us. And it’s no surprise that Dr. Timmons immediately aligned with our Be Love message of building a beloved Community. BE LOVE is a growing movement of courageous acts to achieve justice, which we define based on these words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” BE LOVE is a public art project with our partners at Springfield City Library and SPRINGFIELD CULTURAL PARTNERSHIP INCORPORATED to create the Be Love movement! We aim to engage ALL who would like to join in this message of love & kindness, and be part of a larger public art project up be unveiled at the January 20, 2025 MLK Day Celebration! Want to learn more? Please visit our web page: https://lnkd.in/euq2QtSe for complete details and to take the Be Love Pledge! #beloveinthe413 #belove #belovedcommunity

??Martin Luther King Jr. Family Center calls its ‘kids’ home for reunion.’?? “This is my favorite part. Not only do I get to see my kids, but now they have kids of their own,” she said. “I get to run into them in leadership roles more and more. So now, the kids are my colleagues and now people who I work with in the community, principals and community leaders.” Shared Dr. Latoya Bosworth of her experience as a ‘Kings’ Kid’ and the ripple effect MLKFS has played in shaping its future leaders. “It’s the kids who are the kind of seeds who were planted here and kind of grew — and through them continue to grow the community,” she continued. Fostering these reconnections and honoring this legacy is what our epic 2024 Family Reunion Weekend was all about. Thank you Dave Canton of @masslive for this beautiful coverage of the event. Read it here below. Thank you to the many partners who made this possible: Platinum Sponsors: PeoplesBank, Baystate Health and Monson Savings Bank ; Bronze Sponsors: New Valley Bank & Trust and Center for Human Development (CHD) and Media Sponsors: BusinessWest, Springfield Technical Community College and Garvey Communication Associates Inc. ??Shape a future with us.