This Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 20, you have two options. You can waste your day away drinking on the beach with 5,936 of your closest bros, as usual. Or, in honor of the man who made your day off possible, you can do some good deeds.
Thanks to unite4:good and Miami's devoted do-gooders, there are plenty of options for the latter.
unite4:good, a global movement to spread kindness and positivity, is kicking off its Day of Unity nationwide tour in Miami with lots of volunteer opportunities, a tribute to local heroes and, to top it all off, a concert by Flo Rida.
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The organization was started by ex-corporate mogul Anthony Melikhov, who sold off his company and decided to dedicate himself to bettering humanity.
Now, his group is seeking to spread the message of kindness and service through utilizing technology, social media and pop culture. Big names like President Bill Clinton, Wilmer Valderrama, Demi Lovato, Eva Longoria, Blair Underwood and Forest Whitaker have all gotten on board.
"It's about inspiring people to do good, making it fashionable to do good," says Rhonda Binda, unite4:good's Director of Global Community Outreach. They hand-picked Miami as the starting place for their nationwide tour.
"We chose Miami as the first place -- it's a newer city at such an interesting time. There's so much growth and so much international attention in Miami. It's representative for what we're trying to do in the global movement," Binda adds.
The Day of Unity tour will be hitting several other cities after the 305, and they're also launching a bus tour that'll roll through Miami again around Ultra.
As far as local plans on MLK Day, there will be all kinds of options for volunteers to get in on the action, including painting murals to help revitalize Overtown with Urgent Inc.; helping with warehouse cleanup for Chapman Partnership; singing and dancing with the elderly at Palace at Kendall Assisted Living; giving high-fives and hugs with PARK Project, and a whole host of others. Volunteers are asked to make a commitment online in advance at unite4good.org. Those who volunteer with one of the listed organizations will get free entrance to the evening shindig featuring Flo Rida.
In the long run, unite4:good wants to create a partnership model for non-profits, allowing them to utilize the best talent and tools from other sectors to bring their message to the public. They plan to change the world, literally.
"We want to unite all non-profits and create a platform where all the great things they're doing can be easily accessed by the general public," Binda adds. "Anthony has a vision to use tech and media to create a world where there's more positivity than negativity."
And if you want to be a part of that positive mojo, your chance is coming on January 20th when the philanthropy party rolls into town.
"I have had a lot of fun experiences in Miami and the energy completely captures what we want to do," says Binda. "I know that we've chosen the right place to kick it off!"
The Flo Rida concert and soiree will run from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Ice Palace Film Studios, 9 NW 14th St., Miami. Volunteers get in free, and tickets are available online for $50 for others looking to attend. You can sign up to volunteer online, and you can also check unite4:good out via Facebook and Twitter as well as with the hashtags #U4GDayofUnity and #unite4good.
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