ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Coast Guard crewmembers from Sector St. Petersburg and Air Station Clearwater volunteered at the Bob and Margaret Keelean Sallie House, a safe haven for children, during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event here, Monday.
Taking place each year on the third Monday in January, the MLK Day of Service is the only federal holiday observed as a national day of service. The MLK Day of Service is part of United We Serve, the President’s national call to service initiative.
“During this project, we wanted to provide the children here with positive role models,” said Lt. j.g. Carlos Ortega-Perez, a crewmember at Sector St. Petersburg.
The crewmembers were able to spend the day serving the children cotton candy, snow cones and popcorn while they observed the children play in a bounce house and multiple outdoor games.
Coast Guard members from Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., and Air Station Clearwater are shown at the Sallie House, a safe haven for children, during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event, in St. Petersburg, Monday, Jan. 20, 2013. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Molle
Coast Guard members from Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., and Air Station Clearwater hand cotton candy to a child at the Sallie House, a safe haven for children, during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event, in St. Petersburg, Monday, Jan. 20, 2013. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Molle
Lt.j.g. Jen Peterson, a crewmember at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., hands cotton candy to a child at the Sallie House, a safe haven for children, during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event, in St. Petersburg, Monday, Jan. 20, 2013. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Molle
Coast Guard members from Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., prepare a snow cone and popcorn machine for children at the Sallie House, a safe haven for children, during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event, in St. Petersburg, Monday, Jan. 20, 2013. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Tara Molle
