JAWS

King-size tribute - Breakfast nourishes leader's dreams

Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA)
January 15, 2006

by Taryn Plumb

WORCESTER - Good will is like a candle, said Mika Fuwahara, director of the Service for Peace Program, as she addressed a group of Worcester students yesterday.

In complete darkness, a solitary candle can be seen from miles away, she said - and good will, too, can be felt from a distance.

Martin Luther King Day "is not just a day off from school," she said. "It's about every day. We want to take a minute to look at our fellow brother and really see how we can make a difference."

Ms. Fuwahara conveyed that message of charity at yesterday's 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Breakfast at Worcester State College. The event included dancing and singing performances and the presentation of youth scholarships and awards.

The breakfast works to honor and bolster the memory of the civil rights pioneer and to enable young people to fulfill their dreams, even in the face of adversity and self-doubt. It also encourages youth to get involved in community service and contribute to the betterment of society.

"I feel this is so important for our young people," said Dorothy Hargrove, chairwoman of the breakfast's poetry contest. "To give children a voice is so, so important."

That idea - to acknowledge youth and what they have to say - was imparted by several of the breakfast performers and speakers, including Ms. Fuwahara.

During a presentation by the local chapter of Service for Peace - a national organization that seeks to cross barriers of race, religion and creed through volunteer and service learning programs - teenagers marched around the WSC gym with signs to a recording of Dr. King's seminal "I Have a Dream" speech.

"Boys and girls, it's important that you all have a vision, that you all have a dream," Ms. Fuwahara told the crowd after they assembled on a small stage.

Echoing Dr. King, she continued, "Anybody can be great because anybody can serve. It's in all of you guys."

She explained that Service for Peace operates under the belief that everyone in the world is part of one family, and should live for - and serve - the greater good.

It's through serving one another that you can truly make a difference, she affirmed.

The young people standing behind her - holding handwritten signs that read "All men are created equal" and "Free at Last, Free at last!" - have made an effort to do just that.

Many are involved with the Academy of Education, Service and Government program at South High School. Through that initiative, students are encouraged to volunteer and take part in programs and activities that improve local neighborhoods. Students involved have volunteered at the Worcester Historical Museum, the Audubon Society and UMass Memorial Medical Center.

Academy Dean Maureen Binienda explained many of the youth involved hope to pursue careers in government, law, teaching and management.

Most will put in more than 105 hours of community service by the time they graduate.

"We now refer to our young students as leaders, because that's what they're going to be," she said. "Every weekend we're somewhere doing something."

Thai Vu, a 17-year-old junior, has participated in the program since its outset three years ago. When asked how many community service hours he'd completed so far this year, he replied humbly, "I don't keep track. I just do it for the fun of it."

Other volunteers agreed that the benefits aren't always tangible, and said they aspired to pass along Dr. King's message during yesterday's breakfast.

"We want people to know how he made a difference in many people's lives," said 17-year-old Julia Ankrah. "And also (that they should) have a dream."

Her classmate Sharday Walker added, "Never give up on your dream."

That advice was carried on by some of the event's younger performers, too, including 10-year-old Kayla Gualdarrama, who tap danced to "Mr. Piano Man, Please."

The Raymond E. Shaw Elementary School student, dressed in a rhinestone-studded leotard and fishnet stockings, has been dancing since the age of 11/2. She currently studies at Jo Ann Warren Studios in Worcester, and is proficient in jazz, tap and ballet.

Her dream, she said, is to become a professional dancer.

"My mom put me in it and I've loved it ever since," she said. "I wanna be famous."

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