From press release

Area youth will join together to celebrate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, Jan. 18, at the following events:

• Career & College Fair: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the nCENTER, 220 S. Madison St. This event is hosted by Boy Scouts of America, nFACTOR and Rock Valley College. Rockford Mayor Larry Morrissey (I) will deliver the keynote address.

• Call for Service Across the Nation: 9 to 11 a.m. at the nCENTER. Hat Drive—hats will be collected for school children with an announcement about distribution Jan. 18. The hat drive is hosted by Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council (MYAC), nFACTOR and the Ministers Fellowship; MYAC Community Service Project—with Life Center; and nFACTOR Volunteer Community Service Project—with Shelter Care Ministries.

• Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council Youth Town Hall Meeting—noon to 1:15 p.m., nCENTER, 220 S. Madison St.

Monica de Leon, adviser to the MYAC, said: “MYAC and the Rockford Youth Initiative work to empower youth to be involved in business, civil government, planning, education and social action. This year, Rockford students are truly celebrating the legacy of Dr. King through volunteer activities and access to higher education.”

The purpose and scope of the MYAC is as follows:

• to provide a network that shares ideas, concerns and resources applicable to youth issues and the community;

• to foster collaboration in addressing the needs of youth;

• to increase community awareness of the problems affecting youth, the needs of youth and ways to engage youth;

• to research and develop funding sources to support projects for youth; and

• to inform and advise the mayor of new and emerging issues facing youth.

The majority of the King Day events will be at the Rockford Youth Initiative/nCENTER, which was created to offer programming in a year-round, safe environment that will encourage teens to grow through positive education, recreation and socialization.

Gerald Lott, executive director of the Rockford Youth Initiative, said: “I am excited to be a part of the Martin Luther King youth activities at the nCENTER. We give youth the opportunity to participate in classes and activities, and these programs are a natural outgrowth of what we do every day.”

For information about the Rockford Youth Initiative/nCENTER, contact Lott at 220 S. Madison St., Rockford, via phone at (815) 969-7408 or via e-mail at geraldlott@hotmail.com ^[1].

For information about the MYAC, contact de Leon at (815) 967-6724 or via e-mail at monica.deleon@rockfordil.gov ^[2].