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The local Coastal Habitat for Humanity and Boys & Girls Club of Monmouth County have joined forces to honor Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s vision of a ‘Beloved Community.’

The nationwide movement aims to bring forth ‘a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love of one’s fellow human beings,’ as explained by The King Center.

The local initiative kicked off Jan 15, on the federally recognized Martin Luther King Day, as part of numerous statewide activities prompted by Gov Phil Murphy and members of his transition team to commemorate King’s legacy.

“Having youth from the Boys & Girls club come to Coastal Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore to envision and construct our mission wall was a wonderful experience [not only] for the youth but equally for the staff of both agencies and the numerous volunteers from the local community,” said Heather Schulze, executive director of Coastal Habitat for Humanity on Memorial Drive. “The mission wall will deliver the message of work being done in our local communities towards Dr King’s vision of equal access, equality and opportunity for all.”

The two nonprofit organizations are setting off on a year-long collaboration that will build on Habitat For Humanity’s construction of new affordable homes, critical home repairs and community revitalization initiatives, Schulze said in written news statement.

“The partnership provides our Club members with the opportunity to become part of Martin Luther King Jr’s vision,” said Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Douglas Eagles. “All too often our kids are overlooked, with the assumption that they don’t have anything to contribute. In reality, their potential to impact the world is endless.”

The groups’ projects will be done in partnership with Habitat for Humanity International and The King Center’s MLK 50 Forward initiative, Schulze said.

“In 2018, as we mark the 50th anniversaries of Dr. King’s tragic death and the passage of the Fair Housing Act, we renew our pledge to make the concept of a Beloved Community a reality,” Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford said. “This will never be a world of equality, of fairness, of human decency that leaves no room for poverty or prejudice or violence, unless we build it. And so we build.”

Founded in 1976 as a grassroots effort on a community farm in southern Georgia, Habitat For Humanity has networks in over 1,300 communities across the nation and in more than 70 countries. The Coastal group launched in 1994 and has constructed 20 single-family homes, impacted over 1000 local lives, repaired more than 190 properties, and assisted more than 50 Superstorm Sandy-impacted families in southern coastal Monmouth County, according to a news statement.

“This partnership is one that epitomizes the teachings of Dr. King; the value of all peoples, the value of community, and the need to have and live a dream,” Coastal Habitat for Humanity Board President Randy Bishop [shown in feature photo] said. “I am excited about the work this year with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County and for what we can accomplish together in the years to come.”

[Photos by Geri Gaffney Jannarone via Habitat For Humanity]

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