Thursday, January 21, 2016 THE DOLPHIN 7

Sailors volunteer for Martin Luther King Jr. Day

By MC3(SW) Erin Hamilton

POMFRET,
Conn.
- For the sixth consecutive year, Sailor
community
service
volunteers from Naval
Submarine Base New
London (SUBASE) and

tenant commands celebrated Martin Luther

King Jr. Day, a federal holiday recognized
as a national day of
service, with students
at the Rectory School
in Pomfret, Conn., Jan.
18.
Sailors joined staff

and students with activities such as basketball

and cupcake decorating, as well as other
events focusing on
mentorship.
We use this day
as a day on versus
a day off, said Fred
Williams, headmaster

Its amazing when we can step in to help kids learn and

be there for them. They are our future, so its great when
we can volunteer to help them to grow and learn.

CTM2 Adrian Williams-McCray

NIOD

at The Rectory School.

We talk about Dr.
King, his work, and the
Civil Rights movement
and try to connect his
efforts to our students
and their lives today.
The morning started with an assembly
in one of the schools
performing arts theaters where students
watched videos about
the civil rights movement, sang We Shall
Overcome, and heard
speeches from their
peers.
All students participated in service activities
on and off campus, said
Williams. They volunteered at senior centers,
the local Audubon center, and food shelters.
In total our students
engaged in over 40 different projects.

Its amazing when

we can step in to help
kids learn and be
there for them, said
Cryptologic Technician
(Mechanical)
2nd
Class Adrian WilliamsMcCray, assigned to
Naval
Information
Operations Detachment
on SUBASE. They are
our future, so its great
when we can volunteer
to help them to grow
and learn.
Throughout the days
events and lunch, students were able to ask
Sailors about the military. Students were
curious about submarines, foreign ports,
and food.
The Rectory School
opened in 1920 as an
all-male
institution.
Currently the school
educates about 300

international and local

boys and girls while
teaching them values of
responsibility, respect,
honesty and compassion - values that King
instilled in Americans
as he too action with
the American civil
rights movement in the
1960s.
The King Holiday and
Service Act, passed by
Congress and signed by
President Bill Clinton
on August 23, 1994,
transformed the federal
holiday into a day of
citizen action and volunteer service in honor
of King.
For more information
on upcoming volunteer
opportunities, please
contact MC3(SW) Erin
Hamilton in the SUBASE
Public Affairs Office at
(860) 694-5980.

POMFRET, Conn. - Cryptologic Technician (Mechanical) 2nd Class Adrian Williams-McCray, left,
assigned to Naval Information Operations Detachment gives basketball pointers to a Rectory School
student during a day of service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 18.

POMFRET, Conn. - Cryptologic

Technician
(Mechanical)
2nd Class Adrian WilliamsMcCray, center, assigned to
Naval Information Operations
Detachment plays basketball
with students at The Rectory
School in Pomfret, Conn., Jan.
18. Sailors joined students and
staff to observe a day of service
for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Photos by
MC3(SW) Erin
Hamilton

POMFRET, Conn. - Cryptologic Technician (Mechanical) 2nd Class

Adrian Williams-McCray, center, assigned to Naval Information
Operations Detachment decorates cupcakes with students at The
Rectory School in Pomfret, Conn., Jan. 18. Sailors joined students
and staff to observe a day of service for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.