In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King the Partners In Ministry will be holding a day of service on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 16.

The ministry invites volunteers to help in this day of service by distributing energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs along with safety tips to homes in Scotland, Richmond and Robeson counties. Volunteers can also hand out coats and blankets at the PIM Resource and Referral Center in Gibson to help families prepare for the winter.

“There are hundreds of lessons we can learn from the work of Dr. King,” said PIM Director Dr. Melba McCallum.

“The lesson we are focusing on this Monday is that through service, a group of regular people can make positive change in their community. We at the Partners In Ministry want to encourage the people of our communities to come together to help others, and be the change they want to see in the community.”

Ministry Resource Developer Rachel Brown discussed the motivation behind this project.

“It makes sense to help get people used to these bulbs now, because we’re all going to have to be using them pretty soon,” she said, referring to laws recently passed by Congress which will require manufacturers to phase out the production of traditional incandescent bulbs beginning this year.

“We think it’s really important to educate the community about these new light bulbs. They use 75 percent less energy and save people money on their power bill,” said Brown.

Ministry Community Relations Coordinator, Vanessa Belcher, emphasizes that CFLs are a win-win for the environment. “Because they use so much less power than traditional bulbs, less mercury and greenhouse gasses are released into the environment from coal-fired electric power,” Belcher said.

“Also, CFLs are guaranteed to last for at least two years, so they produce less landfill waste.”

Volunteers are asked to gather at 10 a.m. on Jan. 16 at the Resource and Referral Center at 13280 Church Street, Gibson for hot chocolate and coffee before going out to distribute bulbs and informational flyers to homes.