Vail Mountain School honors Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy with a day of service

Martin Luther King Jr. Day looks a little different at Vail Mountain School. Rather than taking the day off, like most schools and many workplaces across the country, the school holds a day “on” of structured community service.

It’s a tradition that goes back years. Vail Mayor Travis Coggin, who graduated from Vail Mountain School in 1998, remembers participating in the day of service as a student more than 25 years ago. 

Coggin recalled volunteering as a student at a soup kitchen in Denver one year, and at the animal shelter when it was in Minturn, walking dogs up on Meadow Mountain. “You could see how happy those dogs were to get that day of freedom,” he said to Vail Mountain School high schoolers at an assembly on Thursday in preparation for Monday’s day of service.

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“The value of community service is really showing up,” Coggin said. “Opinions are easy, opinions are free, but the work is in showing up and actually creating that impactful change. It’s surprisingly easy to make change when you show up.”

Coggin had some words of advice for students looking to build on their service, who might wish to create change in their community: Be prepared, keep an open mind and open ears, and show up with a positive attitude and an abundance of patience. “Real, impactful change is really, really slow. How long did Martin Luther King fight for what he wanted to get done?” he said.

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Why does Vail Mountain School have students do service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

Vail Mountain School does service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to honor King’s legacy. “The goal of the day is to educate students about MLK Jr., to honor what his wife, Coretta Scott King, wished for on the day, which is a day of service, and to actually serve on the day,” said Kate Blakslee, the school’s coordinator of community engagement and alumni relations.

The day of service also helps students grow as individuals and community members as they realize how much of an impact their presence can make and learn about areas of Eagle County they might not know much about.

“To be connected with our community is super important, and to be active members is really what we strive for,” Blakslee said. “We hope that everyone realizes no matter how small the simple act is, they can make a difference in the world, that connecting and showing up with nonprofits makes a world of difference.”

Senior Charlotte Johnson has been participating in the day of service since she was in kindergarten. “The school gives great opportunities for you to get out into the valley and get beyond yourself, which is something I really, really enjoy about VMS,” Johnson said. “It’s really helped me grow my character and (impacted) the person I’ve become.”

The service students perform looks different depending on their age group, but for all students there is a common goal: to think beyond themselves.

While not all students may be thrilled to be in school on a day that most others have off at first, the impact their service has is a powerful convincing factor, Johnson said. “I think after the actual experience they have, they’re able to realize how much they did in such a small amount of time,” she said.

What does Vail Mountain School’s day of service look like?

Lower school students make baked goods for Eagle County’s public service workers, delivering them to police stations, fire stations and ambulance stations around the county.

Middle schoolers spend the day in school learning about Dr. King’s legacy on the holiday, and their service project typically takes place later in the year. For many students, this is the first foray for students into community service, and they take on projects like picking up trash. “That’s when you begin to realize how big of a day this is,” Johnson said.

Upper schoolers — Vail Mountain School’s term for high schoolers — choose from several community service projects and spend the day out in the community lending a hand.

“It’s on you to realize, ‘this is something I’m passionate about, this is what I’m going to put my work into and my effort into,'” Johnson said. The experience is “something really powerful, and the things that I’ve been able to choose for the past few years have helped grow me as a person.”

Grant Iverson, also a senior, has been participating in the day of service since first grade. “It’s had a such a positive impact on my look throughout the valley, being able to appreciate what people do here and all that they are doing for the community, and being able to take a day to help out with that,” Iverson said.

“It really focuses on our building character and building community, because we’re with classmates the entire day, doing something for the community, and building a connection with them, and I think it not only gives you time to give back to the community, but it also makes you feel good inside that you’re doing this for other people,” Iverson said.

This year, Vail Mountain School upper schoolers are spread throughout the county and beyond, volunteering at 14 nonprofit organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Mountain Valley Horse Rescue, Bright Future Foundation, the Youth Closet, the Salvation Army, and Roundup River Ranch. One popular option every year is to snowshoe or skin up to local 10^th Mountain Division Huts to shovel snow.

“We have long connections with organizations in the valley, and they always welcome us,” Blakslee said. Students “show up well and they work hard, and I think they really support the nonprofits.”

Blakslee said she her aim for the day of service is that it has long-term impacts on students — as it has for Coggin. “Wherever they land after Vail Mountain School, we hope they think back on their days of MLK Jr. (Day) that they did service, and perhaps they can do service on their college campuses or in their adult lives,” Blakslee said.