People march in the annual parade down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to honor Dr. Martin Luther King in this 2015 photo.Across Chattanooga, volunteers used Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday to give back in the spirit of the civil rights leader.
Nonprofit Causeway sponsored a “Cause Mob” that sent volunteers to a secret location and, at the Salvation Army on McCallie Avenue, Southern Adventist University students made rows of hangers and boxes of donated clothing into a fully functioning store for area homeless, complete with a personal shopper.
Adventist senior Ana Fuentes, who organized the Salvation Army event, said it celebrated King’s spirit of service.
“They don’t really get a dignified shopping experience, so I guess looking them in the face, asking them what their name is, shaking their hands, hugging them is a way of serving them and showing Christ’s love as well,” Fuentes said.
Fuentes and about 50 other students worked as personal shoppers, guiding people past clothes, accessories and shoes hung on the metal fence surrounding the property. They helped them pick out clothes that fit their needs, then the shoppers went through a “checkout line” and were guided inside for a hot meal and coffee.