Saks MLK Day of Service Supports Healthier Moms and Youth Facing Homelessness

Each year, Americans across the country step up and volunteer to improve their communities as part of the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service. MLK Day is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service, and has continued to grow each year as participants embrace citizenship and local communities.

CHC partner Saks honored this day by hosting volunteer engagement activities at several locations. Saks Serves opted to support Black women and pregnant people in recognition of the national birthing crisis. Volunteers packed Healthier Mom Kits and screened the documentary  Aftershock, an award-winning film shining a much-needed light on the high rates of preventable maternal mortality among Black women in the U.S.  Two offices in New York City, a location in Pottsville, Pa., and a distribution center in La Vergne, Tenn., participated with 119 volunteers packing the 600 Healthier Mom Kits for distribution at three local birthing centers specializing in prenatal care, labor, and delivery services for Black women in their communities — The Womb Bus in New York City, Inner Circle Midwifery in Pennsylvania, and Homeland Heart Collective in Tennessee.

Saks also chose a virtual project for remote employees to purchase items from a Covenant House shelter wish list. Covenant House, a CHC nonprofit partner, provides housing and supportive services to youth facing homelessness. In total, 121 volunteers participated banking 238 hours for a value of $7,128 in time. Saks Serves volunteers also purchased 18 items from the wish lists that shipped items to shelters in Los Angeles and New York City for a value of $348.69.