Metro residents give back during Day of Service to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

On Monday, the hallways at Faxon Elementary School in Kansas City got a little face lift.

"It does make us feel really great to help give back," said Rachel Waller, Kansas City Power & Light District's marketing director.

KCP&L District employees, along with numerous other groups, helped the nonprofit City Year line the hallways with 33 murals.

"I was very intentional about choosing the people I did because I wanted them to represent my students," Faxon Elementary Principal Kathleen Snipes said.

All of the murals included are of an inspirational quote or person -- people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Frida Kahlo and Nelson Mandela.

"Kids have studied and they've read about and they've been inspired by the people who are on our walls now. So it's going to be amazing tomorrow morning when they come and they walk down the hallways for the first time," Snipes said.

Down the road at UMKC, the School of Dentistry prepared to give away 2,000 dental hygiene kits.

"What he stood for was service. He gave his life for service," Jeffrey Primos, director of business administration at the school, said of King. "So I think when people think of this day, everybody thinks of what he means to the country."

From painted murals to free dental care kits, people hope to keep King's legacy alive through this annual day of service.

View article online here.