MLK Day Is Not A Day Off But A 'Day On' For Others

DENVER (CBS4)- Two hundred and fifty Kaiser Permanente employees celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by coming together for others. The volunteers worked at more than a dozen nonprofits.

CBS4 joined Kaiser volunteers at Mount Saint Vincent in Denver. It is a well-known home for children with severe emotional and behavioral challenges due to trauma, mental illness, abuse or neglect.

But on MLK Day, 25 adults were inside making an impact.

"We're moving along," said Kirsten Fischer, Director of Rehabilitation Services at Kaiser Permanente.

Volunteers were cleaning a kitchen and turning a room into a retreat, a club house.

"So that the kids can have a nice place to play, hang out and relax," Fischer told CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh.

Fischer painted walls with her Kaiser co-workers. Down the hall, another Kaiser team assembled furniture. In a different building, it was paint by number to create colorful murals.

On the MLK holiday, all chose to volunteer.

"Today is a day for service, service for others. You cannot just sit on your couch or while you're skiing and hope for the world to change you have to do something,'' said Roy Machamire, Senior Actuarial Analyst at Kaiser Permanente.

Volunteering is a Kaiser Permanente tradition. Every year on this day, it is a way to honor Dr. King's vision.

"Whatever differences we have, let's come together and do the best for each other," said Curtis Robbins, Senior Manager in Community Health at Kaiser Permanente.

At Mount Saint Vincent, the help was a blessing.

"It allows us to free up our staff to really do the important work of engaging with the kids and it takes a little pressure off our maintenance department, too," said Kirk Ward, Executive Director of Mount Saint Vincent.

By helping struggling children through hard work, MLK Day was not a day off, but a day on for others.