If you are in the Bay Area and seeking a rewarding and fun thing to do for this coming Monday's Martin Luther King Jr holiday then seriously consider  volunteering at John O'Connell High School in San Francisco with the Center for Music National Service and MusicianCorps' MLK Day of Song & Service on January 16, 2012. The upcoming event comes on the heels of last year's "wonderfully successful, daylong event at Oakland School for the Arts (OSA), which brought together 250 community members and volunteers from a wide variety of ages and background to make music, paint murals and celebrate diversity" according to Alaia Zeno - the community programs & service leader with The Center for Music National Service (MNS) who recalled how at last year's premiere event, "Participants honored the spirit of MLK Day with a group performance of the classic Bill Withers soul song, “Lean On Me,” and came together to show the power of music, artistic expression and shared community." See above video.

For this year's MLK Day event participants/volunteers (all ages welcome), whether musicians or not, are invited to join in the fun and give back to the community at the same time. The emphasis for this year's event, according to organizers, is "focused more on beautifying the under-served public school setting we have selected. Led by MNS Staff and MusicianCorps Fellows, volunteers will focus their efforts on improving school grounds, organizing supplies in art classrooms, painting murals, and other small projects." Additionally folks who volunteer will have the opportunity to participate in a mid-day open mic performance as well as an end-of-day sing-along. This year's event, which runs from 10am to 4pm, takes place at John O'Connell High School in San Francisco's Mission District. Breakfast, snack, and lunch will be provided to all volunteers. To register and find out more information click here.  And below is a video from compiled from various sources including some national news reports (NPR, NBC) on MusicianCorps' work. Good stuff!