Martin Luther King Jr. Day events & service opportunities in Harrisburg
In Harrisburg on Jan. 19, answer MLK’s call to service.
This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Monday, Jan. 19. Rather than planning to sleep in, many people in Harrisburg and across the country are preparing to spend the holiday working to better their communities, motivated by the teachings of the legendary civil rights leader.
“[E]verybody can be great, because everybody can serve,” Martin Luther King Jr. said in a 1968 sermon, explaining that service doesn’t require a college degree or “to know the second theory of thermodynamics.” Rather, said King, “You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”
In 1994, Congress established Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a National Day of Service. In a hearing on the legislation, King’s widow and activist herself, Coretta Scott King, envisioned a holiday where millions of Americans “help[ed] friends and strangers alike” by using the day to give back, whether they volunteered in schools or food pantries, beautified local parks, or donated blood. She said her late husband “would have wanted [the holiday] to be a day not only of words, but of deeds.”
Decades later, communities nationwide celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with service events that encourage “a day on, not a day off,” per a motto of the National Day of Service.
Harrisburg will host several volunteer projects taking place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day—as well as opportunities to continue serving the community year-round. Area organizations are also sponsoring events where you can learn more about King and the Civil Rights Movement. And finally, Harrisburg is also home to its own King memorial, a quiet space for reflection.
Here’s how you can get involved in and around Harrisburg this Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The 17th Annual Central PA MLK Day of Service
In the Harrisburg region, the Central PA MLK Day of Service was started to honor King’s legacy through volunteer projects and service opportunities on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The organization has sponsored its community-wide event since 2009, and this year, it’s hosting the 17th Annual Central PA MLK Day of Service.
The Day of Service’s signature sites are the neighboring churches Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church and St. Paul Episcopal Church, with Goodwin Memorial hosting the day’s resource fair. The day will kick off with an opening ceremony, and then service opportunities will be available at the two churches, as well as at dozens of project locations throughout the Harrisburg area.
As I write this, 12 service projects are currently listed and available for volunteer registration on the Day of Service website—though many more will almost certainly be added before the day itself, as last year there were more than 40 listed opportunities.
In 2026, you can serve the area by participating in projects such as picking up litter in nearby New Cumberland, helping to renovate a local church, sorting through donated items at a thrift store, prepping a community garden, and creating arts and crafts activities for kids in hospitals, among other volunteer opportunities. See them all on the Day of Service volunteer portal.
Central PA MLK 365
The third Monday in January may be the most important day for the folks behind the Central PA MLK Day of Service, but the group is also active throughout the rest of the year. In 2023, with organizers citing “[t]he need to move beyond observing just a day of service,” the Central PA MLK Day of Service project evolved into Central PA MLK 365, a year-round effort to share volunteer opportunities and build connections between community partners.
More ways to give back
You can serve the community outside of the official Day of Service or give back in other ways, such as donating blood.
Community blood drives – Harrisburg
You can sign up to give blood with the American Red Cross at its MLK Day of Service Community Blood Drive, which will take place on its “bloodmobile” (a bus). The blood drive is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Jan. 19.
The Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank is also sponsoring a blood drive during the area’s MLK Day of Service. Appointments are available at the Grass Campus for Jewish Life in Harrisburg between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Jan. 19.
MLK Project Day with Rebuilding Together Greater Harrisburg – Harrisburg
Rebuilding Together Greater Harrisburg, which provides free home repairs to those who need them, is hosting an MLK Project Day on Jan. 19 for volunteers interested in doing minor interior painting. The home to be painted belongs to a family with disabilities. Sign up to volunteer on the Rebuilding Together website.
Other events & things to do to commemorate the holiday
MLK Commemoration – Carlisle
Date and time: Sunday, Jan. 18, 3 p.m.
Just half an hour from Harrisburg, Carlisle will host its 37th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration on the Sunday before the holiday. At 3 p.m., participants will march from Bethel AME Carlisle to Carlisle United Methodist Church, where the commemoration begins at 4 p.m. The keynote speaker is Emerson A. Cottrell, the pastor at Bethel AME Carlisle. The event will also be livestreamed for those who can’t make it in person.
MLK Day International Poetry & Storytelling Festival – Harrisburg
Date and time: Sunday, Jan. 18, 6 p.m.
The night before the King Holiday, the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg is hosting its MLK International Poetry & Storytelling Festival at Harrisburg Area Community College’s Cooper Center. Local poets will perform works honoring King’s legacy, while high school and college student writers participate in a poetry and storytelling competition on the theme “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” a famous line from King’s 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”
Tickets are free, and refreshments will follow the performances.
MLK 365 Resource Fair– Harrisburg
Date and time: Monday, Jan. 19, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
As part of the Central PA MLK Day of Service, a resource fair will be held at Goodwin Memorial Baptist Church starting at 10 a.m. Learn more about the institutions that make up the community as area businesses, nonprofits, and other groups share details on the services they offer.
4th Annual MLK Day of Reading – Harrisburg
Date and time: Monday, Jan. 19; individual readings in the morning, main program at 12 p.m.
Harrisburg’s 4th Annual MLK Day of Reading is a series of storytime events for children in and around the area. In the morning, small readings will take place throughout the community, and then Harrisburg’s Beth El Temple will host a program between noon and 2 p.m. to end the day. Expect kids’ activities, refreshments, and a special reading of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech by community leaders.
Keep an eye on Facebook for the list of storytime locations, which will be published by Harrisburg’s American Literacy Corporation closer to the event.
Messiah University’s MLK Commemoration featuring Anthony Ray Hinton – Grantham
Date and time: Tuesday, Jan. 20, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Just outside of Harrisburg in Grantham, Messiah University is hosting its own MLK Commemoration with featured speaker Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. Hinton’s story was featured in Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy,” and he also authored his own book, “The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row.” He’ll use his experiences to discuss prison system reform and the fight against systemic racism and injustice.
The event is free, but tickets must be reserved in advance.
Visit Harrisburg’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial – Harrisburg
Did you know Harrisburg has its own King memorial? The city’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial can be found along the Capital Area Greenbelt, the roughly 24-mile loop trail that connects parks and natural areas as it circles Harrisburg. At the site, 12 granite slabs, each dedicated to one of King’s “crusades”—his historic civil rights campaigns—create a path to an 11-foot memorial obelisk that presides over a garden filled with native plants. The space is maintained by dedicated volunteers.
Because the memorial is only accessible by way of the Greenbelt, it offers a secluded retreat ideal for quiet contemplation. You can find the memorial within the Greenbelt’s Cameron Parkway section between 19th Street and 28th Street.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
