Medfield Student Celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Day of Service

Andrea Nevins is a 14-year old student who wants to make a difference in the world.

Because of her passion for community service – she started
the “R-Word: Spread the Word to End the Word” campaign at Blake Middle School (where she is in eighth grade) and also last year raised money for the Boston Cares service organization – Nevins was nominated by school administrators to serve as Medfield’s ambassador to Governor Deval Patrick’s annual Project 351 which “celebrates the ethic of service, youth leadership, and the power of community to uplift and unite.”

On Saturday, Nevins was one of more than 250 middle school students who were chosen from the Commonwealth’s 351 communities to gather in Boston to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

“There was a lot of talking and realizing that Dr. King’s message was to serve,” said Nevins, reflecting on the memorable event.  “Dr. King wanted everyone to be equal and, once they were equal, he wanted them to serve.” 

The day began with a Youth Town Meeting before students spent a day of service at either Cradles to Crayons, Dorchester Boys and Girls Club, Greater Boston Food Bank, or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Towers. The day ended at the State House where the Governor thanked the students for their service and compared their work to that of King.

Nevins spent her day at the Dorchester Boys and Girls Club.

“We made blankets for the infants and other people painted a mural in the Teen Center and others helped fill backpacks with school supplies,” she said, noting the day of service has her thinking of ways to foster a connection between kids in Medfield and those in Dorchester.

“Maybe we could do little things behind the scenes, or maybe we could go there and hang out with them and talk to them and make sure they’re on the right path,” she said.

This would be in addition to her “Spread the Word to End the Word” work at Blake where she is working with other students to arrange for speakers as well as an assembly to make middle school students aware that “even if you’re not using the R-word with someone who has an intellectual disability,
it still hurts when other people hear it [because] they could know someone or have a sibling” who has an intellectual disability.

“I think they chose me because I do a lot of service and they knew that, if I was to go, that maybe I could continue something at our school,” said Nevins.

It looks like they were right.