Honoring MLK Through Service

On January 19, 2015, one hundred Kaiser Permanente San Diego staff and physicians provided community service as part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.  They exemplified excellence in service and demonstrated a commitment to the principles and philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King.  In partnership with the Jacobs and Cushman San Diego Food Bank, they were instrumental in creating 3,516 bags of food for the "Back Pack" program, which provides food to chronically hungry elementary school students from low-income households every weekend when free school meals are unavailable.  They created 1,608 senior food boxes for distribution to seniors in need.  They sorted 17,500 pounds of food, collected during the holiday food drive, which will support redistributing the food to people in need throughout the county. In total, 72,223 pounds of food was sorted, boxed or packed and using the USDA equivalent of 1.28 pounds per meal, this equates to over 56,000 meals. 

Additionally, Kaiser Permanente participated in the City of San Diego's "5th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration and Sports Fest!" on January 10, 2015.  Volunteers delivered physician consultation and health education and materials, Kaiser Permanente's Mobile Health Vehicle staff conducted blood pressure checks, BMI measurement and glucose screenings for 50 community members. 

by Shreya Sasaki, Senior Community Benefit Manager, Kaiser Permanente San Diego