Each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, UIC students volunteer their time to help local organizations in Chicago, to embody Dr. King’s vision of service and community improvement. This year, students braved the cold weather to participate in two projects organized by Student Leadership and Civic Engagement: cleaning and picking up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in North Lawndale and winterizing the East Garfield Park garden of Limes Smiles for Miles, a gardening program for 3- to 5-year-olds diagnosed with autism or Down syndrome. In the garden, students picked up trash, raked and plowed and planted native flowers.
Click through the gallery below to see photos of students in action at this year’s MLK Jr. Day of Service.
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
For the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service, UIC students cleaned and picked up trash at Stone Temple Baptist Church in Lawndale. (Photo: Creative and Digital Services)
UIC students volunteered at the East Garfield Park garden of Limes Smiles for Miles for the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service. They helped winterize the garden, picked up trash and planted native flowers. (Photo: Parrama Chouhan)
UIC students volunteered at the East Garfield Park garden of Limes Smiles for Miles for the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service. They helped winterize the garden, picked up trash and planted native flowers. (Photo: Parrama Chouhan)
UIC students volunteered at the East Garfield Park garden of Limes Smiles for Miles for the 2025 MLK Jr. Day of Service. They helped winterize the garden, picked up trash and planted native flowers. (Photo: Parrama Chouhan)