{"id":792,"date":"2018-02-21T15:57:39","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T15:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jewishpb.org\/volunteer\/?p=792"},"modified":"2018-02-21T17:14:56","modified_gmt":"2018-02-21T17:14:56","slug":"mlk_day_of_service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishpb.org\/volunteer\/index.php\/2018\/02\/21\/mlk_day_of_service\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Martin Luther King Jr. Day events put spotlight on service, ending poverty"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Jason Hackett<\/span>
\n 7:29 PM, Jan 15, 2018<\/span><\/p>\n

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – You’ve heard it said before – many people are just a few paychecks away from being homeless.\u00a0<\/span>If you think it can’t happen to you, consider Archie Matthews Jr.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been homeless 30 years,\u201d he says. Sitting by the Intracoastal day after day, he worries that society has forgotten about him.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201c\u2018Oh he’s homeless, he don’t mean nothing,\u2019\u201d Archie says. \u201cI mean a lot, and everybody out here means a lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s a message that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to get across. His work to curb poverty in the US is sometimes called his “forgotten dream.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. King’s \u2018Poor People’s Campaign’ was a call to action, urging the government to strive for economic justice. An assassin’s bullet ended his life before that dream was fully realized.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, many are working to revive the campaign to help the poor, a campaign that crosses racial lines.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEradicating poverty and uplifting all humanity was something that was important to him,\u201d Reverend Kevin Jones\u00a0says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County held several service events around the county Monday. Much of that focus squarely on the poor and homeless, including a barbecue at Currie Park.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll boats rise with the tide, and it’s our obligation to do whatever we can,\u201d says Michael Hoffman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach.<\/span><\/p>\n

To some, it was just a plate of food and a can of soda, but for Archie it represented what society is capable of.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gald to see this out here…we need more of this,\u201d Archie says.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also represented a forgotten dream that may not be so forgotten after all.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy. And Martin Luther King is happy too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n