SABINE PASS, Texas — Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service.
On this day, people are encouraged to volunteer to improve their community.
The Vessel Project of Louisiana, the Golden Triangle Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Resilience is Power program from Houston gathered at McFaddin Beach Monday to help spread Dr. King's message of keeping spaces beautiful and inclusive for all.
The groups' goal was 300 pounds of trash and they came in just shy at 298 pounds.
Their mission is bigger than the cans and containers picked up, but more so to keep the earth and the eco-systems clean for everyone to enjoy.
This is the message Director of the Vessel Project Roishetta Ozane the shares on MLK Day.
"Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has a quote that says 'we aren't good until we are all good.' The quote is a bit bigger than that, but that's the theme of the quote. If we want a better community, we also have to help better communities and other cities," Ozane said.
Skip Frost volunteered on Monday alongside his grandson.
He says events like these are important.
"I have done them in the past, but not in a long time. I realized that I need to start teaching my grandchildren the importance of preserving and keeping our beaches clean," Frost said.
From helping others become stewards of the earth, another organizer Ariana Akbari reminds other that Dr. King lived his life with acts of service.
"This is our opportunity to emulate his leadership by also doing our own act of service," Akbari said.
This is the first beach cleanup that this group has organized and they plan to hold more.
"It makes me feel real good to help others and I want us to be proud of our beaches," Frost said.