Instead of kicking back and relaxing, Community of Scholars students spent their Martin Luther King Jr. Day honoring the values and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King and spent time making an impact in the local Detroit community.

40 COS students spread across two different locations in Metro Detroit- the Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan located 4242 Collingwood St and the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (7432 Brush St) - spent their morning and afternoon painting and building bleachers and furniture at Boys and Girls Club and restocking pantry shelves with donated food at the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative.

For Faris Alkhouri, a junior biology major, this was his first helping out with the MLK Clean-up Day event. While volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, he helped renovate the inside of the building by painting doors.

"It was pretty fun to work with everyone and just working to make the place better for the kids," he said. "It's really important to do that kind of stuff, especially on this holiday, because even though what we did was just something so little, like painting doors, could leave an impact on other people's lives. Martin Luther King, Jr. impacted all of America, and just by doing simple work, we can impact a lot of people's lives.

Alkhouri said it made him happy knowing that the very next day boys and girls would come to the building and see the transformation for themselves. "It makes me feel optimistic that the future is going to be better for others and leaves a mark on everyone."

"These students embody the best of Warrior values," said Dean John Corvino of the Irvin D. Reid Honors College, which houses the Community of Scholars. "Their service is a fitting way to honor Dr. King."

The Community of Scholars a unique group of students who excel not only academically, but within their community as well. The Community of Scholars has served food to the elderly and homeless, painted schools, and participated in neighborhood clean-ups within the city of Detroit. Since its development in 2010, students of CoS have completed more than 47,000 community service hours that resulted in a economic impact of more than $1,000,000.