LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Many of us take Sunday as a day to relax ahead of the week, but for Diana Shelton, this Sunday was all hands on deck.
"Normally I would definitely say no to working on Sunday, but we, definitely in preparation, we do not stop," Shelton said. "We are quite busy."
This is because Shelton's looking ahead to Monday -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
For Shelton and the rest of the Arkansas MLK Commission, this is their biggest day of the year.
"We are but one agency and so we have to encourage those in other communities to get out and just help and do their part as we do ours," Shelton said.
Tiffany Pettis, historian for the Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission shared that their downtown office would have plenty of activities -- from on-site community service projects, to local vendors, to free COVID shots and food.
“It's a celebration and so right here at our offices at 906 Broadway, right here in downtown Little Rock, we're hosting a massive food giveaway," Pettis said.
Pettis added that this holiday is more than a day off from work or school — it represents a historic year of many milestones.
Not only is it the 30th anniversary of the Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, but it is also the 40th anniversary of the federal King holiday, which was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983.
It's been decades in the making, filled with countless people in the community working towards the same goal.
It's easy to spot and see how much work they're putting in. The walls of the commission are currently stacked with food as they prepare for a food giveaway on Monday.
That giveaway, which is set to take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the commission's building in Little Rock, is just some of the work they do.
A combination of hard work and service-- this has been their mission for 30 years now.
"We make our world a better place by coming together and uniting and reaching out to our brothers and sisters of the human race. To just be better people in our world," Shelton said.
It's those ideals they take directly from Dr. King. Even though 50 years have passed since his death, those concepts are still present.
"It's not a day off, it's a day on for us," she said.
While Monday is just a day of the week, this specific Monday represents so much more.
This day acts an opportunity to honor and reflect on the life of an icon, and keep the legacy he leaves behind going strong.
"Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve," Shelton said. "Serving others doesn't mean you have to host a large day of service, it just means that whatever is in your heart to give, give that thing and make that impact."