MLK Jr Annual Community Breakfast

Assumption University and QCC will be hosting the 40th Annual Community Breakfast honoring The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 20, 2025. Doors open at 7:00 a.m. and the program will begin promptly at 8:00 a.m.

Location: Assumption University - Plourde Recreation Center, 500 Salisbury St. Worcester, MA. Shuttle service from the parking lots to the Plourde Recreation Center will be provided by the WRTA.

Dr. Kellie Carter-Jackson

Kellie Carter Jackson is the Michael and Denise ‘68 Associate Professor of Africana Studies and the Chair of the Africana Studies Department Wellesley College. She is the author of We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance (Seal Press) and the award winning book, Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence. Her essays have been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Nation, the Boston Globe, CNN, and a host of other outlets. She has been featured in numerous documentaries for Netflix, PBS, MSNBC, CNN, and AppleTV. She has also been interviewed on Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, MSNBC, and countless podcasts.

She co-hosts the podcast, “This Day in Political Esoteric History” with Jody Avirgan and Nicole Hemmer. She is Executive Producer and Host of the award winning “You Get a Podcast! The Study of the Queen of Talk,” formerly known as “Oprahdemics” with co-host Leah Wright Rigueur. Carter Jackson served as a Historian-in-Residence for the Museum of African American History in Boston and is commissioner for the Massachusetts Historical Commission. She lives in the suburbs of Boston with her husband and three children.

2025 Day of Service Opportunities

Local organizations will be in attendance at this year’s Breakfast so guests can sign up for future volunteer opportunities to keep the spirit of MLK, Jr. Day alive throughout the year. An important part of the Breakfast will be collecting new, age-appropriate books related to MLK or the theme of diversity for second and third grade students in Worcester and Fitchburg public schools – books they can take home, enjoy, and be proud of. Please bring a new book with you to the Breakfast.

Worcester Area Mission Society and United Congregational Church Logos

Worcester Area Mission Society (WAMS) and United Congregational Church

As part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Breakfast, the Worcester Area Mission Society (WAMS) and United Congregational Church are collecting new books for second and third grade public school students in Worcester Public Schools. Age-appropriate books are needed on Dr. King, other civil rights leaders, or justice and equity topics. Books can be dropped off at the Worcester Area Mission Society, 6 Institute Rd., Worcester, Monday -Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., or by appointment until the end of February, or tax deductible cash donations can be made to WAMS. WAMS staff will use all money donated to this drive to buy the needed books. For more information contact Karen Ludington at 978.660.4915.

YMCA and MLK Community Breakfast Committee

In honor of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the YMCA and MLK Community Breakfast Committee are looking for volunteers to assemble kits for foster children. Kits will include pajamas, a toothbrush, and a message from the Community. Please join us on Monday, January 20, 2025, from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. at YMCA’s Greendale Family Branch or Central Community Branch. For more information about this volunteer opportunity contact Christina Puleo at cpuleo@ymcaofcm.org.

Empowering People for Inclusive Communities (EPIC)

Empowering People for Inclusive Communities (EPIC) is hosting and inviting volunteers who are interested in completing several different projects. We are meeting on Monday, January 20, at the Pakachoag Center, 203 Pakachoag St., Auburn, MA, from 10 am - 2 pm. We are decorating lunch bags for Meal On Wheels, assembling activity books for children and resource books for families, and making no-sew scarves. We are asking people to donate travel-sized toiletry items and menstrual products. For more information contact Krystal Linn at klinn@epicleaders.org or 617.917.5183.

2025 Program Feature

The 2025 Breakfast will feature a performance by Xaulanda Thorpe. Thorpe is a spoken word poet from Worcester, Massachusetts. In 2021, Xaulanda’s poem was chosen for the African Burial Ground National Monument’s Still I Rise tribute to Maya Angelou. Her poems have been featured in “The Issue” and “Worcester Magazine.”

$10,000

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Tickets - Two Event Tables (20 EventTickets)
Event Signage - Premium recognition with logo
Event Vendor Table
Program Book - Full page color ad (sponsor created)
Event Webpage - Logo with hyperlink
Press Materials - Prominence in press materials
Digital/Print Communications - Logo and/or hyperlink

$5,000

Thomas Lewis Doughton, IV

Tickets - One Event Table (10 Event Tickets)
Event Signage - Premium recognition with logo
Program Book - Full page color ad (sponsor created)
Event Webpage - Logo with hyperlink
Press Materials - Prominence in press materials
Digital/Print Communications - Logo and/or hyperlink

$2,500

Dr. Ogretta V. McNeil

Tickets - One Event Table (10 Event Tickets)
Event Signage - Premium recognition with logo
Program Book - Half page color ad (sponsor created)
Event Webpage - Logo with hyperlink
Press Materials - Prominence in press materials
Digital/Print Communications - Logo and/or hyperlink

$1,000

Elisabeth Price

Tickets - Five Event Tickets
Event Signage - Logo
Program Book - Quarter page color ad (sponsor created)
Event Webpage - Logo with hyperlink
Press Materials - Logo in press materials
Digital/Print Communications - Logo and/or hyperlink

$500

Leonard P. Cooper

Tickets - Two Event Tickets
Program Book - Quarter page color ad (sponsor created)
Digital/Print Communications - Logo and/or hyperlink

Bronze, Silver and Gold Giving Opportunities

Donations of $50, $100 or $250 will be acknowledged in the program.

Thank you for your consideration. Your sponsorship will enable us to carry on this most important message, which is essential to our collective and continued quest for social justice.