The observance of Martin Luther King’s birthday on the third Monday in January is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities. Our communities and how we interact with them are changing – family and social lives are physically distanced, offices sprout in kitchens, worship moves online. What remains is our ability to improve the lives of those around us. That impact on our communities is at the core of our mission and in the hearts of every member of the Argonne community.

NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 10: Martin Luther King Speaking on September 10, 1963 in New York, New York. (Photo by Santi Visalli/Getty images)

When Dr. King addressed the Hungry Club Forum on May 10, 1967, three years after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for employing nonviolent civil disobedience to advance racial equality he asked not if we have the resources or skills to tackle humanity’s great challenges but whether we as a nation would decide to initiate the action to do so.

On this day of celebration and service, please live in the Argonne core value of impact as you choose to think creatively, pursue innovative ideas, and deliver excellence to positively change our community, nation, and world in honor of Dr. King’s life and legacy. Do it, as he charged the crowd that evening in Atlanta, not because it is safe or popular, but “because it is right.”

By Harrel Townsend, Human Resource Services