10TH ANNUAL RIVER FALLS COMMUNITY
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
HOLIDAY BREAKFAST
January 16, 2017 (Monday)
Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
Program: 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Saint Bridget Fellowship Hall, 211 East Division St, River Falls WI 54022
RIVER FALLS LOCAL PROGRAM
Live Music
Hot Breakfast compliments of River Falls Lions Club
Youth Centerpiece and Placemat Art
Youth Community Service Award Winner (how to nominate on website)
Youth Poetry/Essays Contest Winners (how to enter on website)
Donation Recipient: River Falls Sunshine Fund
Live Broadcast via TPT of Keynote Speech by Myrlie Evers-Williams
http://www.saintbridgets.org/church/MLK.cfm & Facebook MLK Jr Breakfast - River Falls,
WI
TICKETS
$5.00 Suggested Donation (children under 12 free)
Available at:
Fox Den Books and River Falls High School
December 12, 2016 to January 14, 2017
Mon-Sat: 10:00am-7:00pm and Sunday: 11:00am-4:00pm
715-425-6180,
OR
Call Kathy Scott at 651-442-5189 to hold at will call
Some tickets may be available at door
THIS COMMUNITY BREAKFAST IS HELD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MAIN EVENT AT THE MINNEAPOLIS CONVENTION CENTER AS ONE OF 9
COMMUNITY BREAKFASTS SUPPORTED BY INTERFAITH ACTION OF GREATER ST PAUL: www.mlkbreakfast.org.
BENEFITTING:
All ticket sales and other proceeds exceeding minimal costs of the breakfast will be
donated to support the goals and mission of the
RIVER FALLS SUNSHINE FUND:
We call ourselves the Shunshine Fund because when someone is going through really tough
times everyone needs a little bit of sunshine in their life. We want to be able to give that to
anyone in the River Falls School District who is in need of it. We are a compassionate
student led non-profit organization with the goal of generating funds to give back to others
within our greater community. Our mission is “To unite our school and community as one.
A team effort combined with compassion can be a powerful organization that connects all
clubs, sports, and other activities in the district for the greater good.” We recognize an
array of hardships, such as a family death, job loss/economic hardship, and severe medical
circumstances. When we become aware of families in need we must quickly react.
Fundraising can then vary from $200 to $1000 for similar family needs. The goal is to
develop a fund to provide support through an established fund to act immediately with: gas
cards, monetary support, emotional support, gift cards for gas/food/etc., and by providing
volunteer help. The board of directors is composed of 2 students from each grade at the
River Falls High School and community adult mentors.
For more information or about the River Falls Sunshine Fund
Contact: [email protected]
Donations can be sent payable to the River Falls Sunshine Fund, 818 Cemetery Road, River
Falls, WI, 54022
YOUTH COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
NOMINATE A YOUTH TODAY!
Nomination Deadline: January 10, 2017 (received by US mail or email).
Nominate a Youth for the 2017 River Falls Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Youth
Community Service Award. A youth will be selected and recognized at the River Falls MLK
Breakfast who is an example of service to others in our community. Nomination
information & Nomination Form is available by clicking the link on the St Bridget
webpage: http://www.saintbridgets.org/church/MLK.cfm . The selected award winner(s)
and family members will receive tickets to the event, event poster, and recognition at the
breakfast. Nominations will be reviewed and selected by the River Falls MLK Planning
Team.
Send forms to: Kathy Scott, N8202 1155th St, River Falls WI 54022 or
[email protected]. For more information call Kathy at 651-442-5189.
YOUTH POETRY/WRITING CONTEST
SUBMIT POEMS/ESSAYS TODAY!
Poetry/Essay Deadline: January 10, 2017.
Youth Poetry or Essays written for this event are being requested. The poems/essays
should 500 words or less and include the poet/writers name, phone number, email address,
parent’s name and phone number(s). The topic for the contest is: “The Time is Always
Right to be Right." – What does it mean for you? Poetry/Essays will then be reviewed and
selected by the River Falls MLK Planning Committee and the winners contacted. Up to
three winners will be selected and be requested to read at the event, poems and essays
published in the program, and the winners and their family members will receive tickets to
the event. Send poetry and essays to: Julie Schmidt, [email protected]. For
more information call Julie at 651-592-8494.
I HAVE A DREAM SPONSORS
To help raise funds for our donation recipients we are asking individuals, businesses and
organizations to become “I Have a Dream” Sponsors of the breakfast by giving a minimum
$50 or a $50 in-kind donation. “I Have a Dream” Sponsors that are known prior to the
breakfast will be listed in the program and otherwise recognized at the breakfast. Checks
can be made payable to “The River Falls Sunshine Fund” memo section: MLK breakfast and
mailed to MLK Breakfast, c/o Kathy Scott, N8202 1155th St, River Falls WI 54022.
2017 RIVER FALLS MLK PLANNING TEAM
If you can help please contact a team member!
Kathy Scott, 651-442-5189, [email protected] (coordinator)
Mike Stifter, 715-821-8761, [email protected] (Lion’s Club)
Julie Schmidt, 651-592-8494 (cell); [email protected]
Michelle Patnaude-Hansen, 715-222-2906; [email protected]
Ronna Ellis, [email protected]
Meredith Stevens, 715-497-8349, [email protected]
Kit Luedtke, 715-425-1830, ext. 3704, [email protected], and River Falls High
School student members of the River Falls Sunshine Fund
DESCRIPTION OF THIS EVENT
Background: This is the 10th year for the River Falls Community Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Holiday Breakfast! A special thanks to the generosity of St. Bridget Catholic Church for hosting this
event again this year. The River Falls breakfast is held in conjunction with the main Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast that is celebrating its 27th year and is sponsored by the General
Mills Foundation, the United Negro College Fund, and Interfaith Action of Greater St Paul
(www.mlkbreakfast.org). Over the years the main breakfast has grown from a relatively small
gathering, to seating approximately 2000 people at the Minneapolis Convention Center. This event
grew through organizational efforts of Interfaith Action of Greater St Paul by coordinating community
breakfasts at 9 locations, of which River Falls is one (www.interfaithaction.org).
Focus on Community Service and Youth: The River Falls Community MLK Jr.
Holiday Breakfast and program celebrates the legacy of service of Dr. King and creates a
springboard for looking past our individual needs to those of our neighbors. Youth
demonstrating this in our community will be highlighted at our event again this year
through recognition of Youth Community Service Award, Youth Art, Youth Poetry, and
Youth Essays.
2017 Keynote Speaker via TPT Broadcast: Myrlie Evers-Williams:
This year's keynote speaker is Myrlie Evers-Williams, author and civil
rights activist. Evers-Williams was the wife of murdered civil rights activist
Medgar Evers. While fighting to bring his killer to justice, Evers-Williams also
continued her husband's work with her book, For Us, The Living. She also
wrote Watch Me Fly: What I Learned on the Way to Becoming the Woman I
Was Meant to Be. Evers-Williams served as chair of the NAACP from 1995 to
1998.
Born Myrlie Louise Beasley on March 17, 1933, in Vicksburg,
Mississippi. Raised by her grandmother, a schoolteacher, Evers-Williams
loved learning and music. Growing up in the segregated South, she went to
Alcorn A&M College, one of the only colleges in the state that accepted
African American students. While at Alcorn, she met Medgar Evers, a World
War II veteran several years her senior. The couple fell in love and married in December of 1951.
When her husband became the Mississippi field secretary for the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Evers-Williams worked alongside him. She assisted him as
he strove to end the unjust practice of racial segregation in schools and other public facilities and
campaigned for voting rights as many African Americans were denied this right in the South. Medgar
made enemies of those who didn't want race relations in the South to change. On June 12, 1963,
Medger Evers was shot to death in front of his home by a white supremacist named Byron De La
Beckwith.
After her husband's murder, Evers-Williams fought hard to see his killer brought to justice.
Although Beckwith was arrested and brought to trial on murder charges, two all-white juries could
not reach a verdict in the case. It would take approximately 30 years for justice to be served, with
Williams-Evers keeping the case alive and pushing for Beckwith to pay for his crime. Her efforts were
not in vain. In the early 1990s, Beckwith was again arrested and later convicted by a multi-racial
jury. Besides her quest for justice, Evers-Williams rebuilt her life after her husband's death. She
moved with her children to California and emerged as a civil rights activist in her own right. EversWilliams spoke on behalf of the NAACP and wrote For Us, the Living, which chronicled her late
husband's life and work in 1967. She also made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Congress in 1970.
In 1976, Evers-Williams married Walter Williams, a labor and civil rights activist. She
continued to explore ways to serve her community and to work with the NAACP. Los Angeles mayor
Tom Bradley appointed her to the Board of Public Works as a commissioner in 1987. Evers-Williams
also joined the board of the NAACP. By the mid-1990s, the prestigious organization was going
through a difficult period marked by scandal and economic problems. Evers-Williams decided that
the best way to help the organization was by running for chairperson of the board of directors. She
won the position in 1995. As chairperson of the NAACP, Evers-Williams worked to restore the
tarnished image of the organization. She also helped improve its financial status, raising enough
funds to eliminate its debt. Evers-Williams received many honors for her work, including being
named Woman of the Year by Ms. Magazine. With the organization financially stable, she decided to
not seek re-election as chairperson in 1998.
2017 MLK-RF Website Information Draft.doc