Each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, communities across the country pause to honor Dr. King’s legacy not only in words, but through action. On January 19, 2026, Westside Future Fund’s Annual MLK Day of Service once again brought that legacy to life — activating more than 1,500 volunteers across 14 sites throughout Atlanta’s historic Westside in a shared commitment to care, service, and community.
From neighborhood schools and parks to urban farms and community organizations, volunteers showed up with paintbrushes, gloves, tools, and open hearts. The day reflected a core belief that guides Westside Future Fund’s work year-round: revitalization must be rooted in partnership, shared responsibility, and working alongside the community — not around it.
“Dr. King reminded us that everybody can serve,” said John Ahmann, President & CEO of Westside Future Fund. “Our annual MLK Day of Service reflects how restoration on the Westside happens year-round — neighbors, partners, and institutions showing up together with respect, care, and a shared commitment to place.”
Service Rooted in Place and History
Projects spanned more than a dozen locations across the historic Westside, where community partners and residents supported spaces that matter deeply to neighborhood life.
At Booker T. Washington Cluster schools — including Booker T. Washington High School, where Dr. King once walked the halls as a student — volunteers supported campus beautification, mural painting, classroom organization, landscaping, and student encouragement initiatives to help prepare schools for the semester ahead.
Additional projects took place at parks and green spaces such as Katherine Johnston Park and Rodney Cook Park, where volunteers focused on cleanup, planting, and care. Teams also supported urban agriculture sites including Truly Living Well and Historic Westside Gardens, helping strengthen local food systems and community gathering spaces.
Community organizations across the Westside welcomed volunteers as well, including the Harland Boys & Girls Club, Antioch Urban Ministries, Helping Empower Youth, and the Omenala Griot Museum. At each site, service was guided by respect for the work already happening and the people who steward these spaces every day.
Partnership in Action
Partnership is at the heart of the MLK Day of Service, and this year’s event was made possible through the commitment of long-standing community and corporate partners who contributed volunteers, tools, materials, and leadership — working shoulder to shoulder with residents and Westside Future Fund staff.
Participating partners included Atlanta Botanical Garden, Breakthrough Atlanta, Clark Atlanta University, Equifax, Georgia Power Company, Grant Thornton (US), JPMorganChase, Kaiser Permanente, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, King & Spalding, KPMG US, The Lovett School, and Spelman College.
Westside Future Fund is deeply grateful to The Home Depot Foundation for serving as this year’s presenting sponsor, and to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP for their supporting sponsorship. Their investment — alongside the commitment of every participating partner — reinforces the belief that meaningful change happens when institutions and communities show up together.
More Than a Day of Service
While MLK Day of Service is one powerful moment each year, it reflects work that continues long after the last volunteer site wraps up. The day reinforces Westside Future Fund’s year-round mission to prevent displacement, expand affordable housing, and strengthen Atlanta’s historic Westside through trust, collaboration, and long-term investment.
Service and restoration are not one-time acts — they are ongoing practices. On MLK Day, volunteers embodied Dr. King’s vision of the Beloved Community by caring for shared spaces, honoring history, and investing time and energy in a community he called home.
To every volunteer, partner, resident, and staff member who made this day possible: thank you for showing up, serving together, and helping carry this legacy forward.
Interested in getting involved as a volunteer? Visit volunteer.westsidefuturefund.org.