Answering the call to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day “a day on, not a day off,” some 20 Simpson College students joined other volunteers in Des Moines last week to help others.

As part of the MLK Day of Service event, the Simpson students were among 281 people who participated. They helped:

• Make 95 tie blankets, which were presented to Blank Children’s Hospital and other local, non-profit shelters.

• Complete 190 personal care kits for Lutheran World Relief.

• Make 250 newspaper floors for the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.

• Make 189 greeting cards for military veterans undergoing treatment at the VA Central Health System in Des Moines.

• Complete an 800-piece mailing for the Fort Des Moines Museum.

• Prepare 109 cards for Max Low, a 13-year-old boy from Neola, Iowa who is fighting leukemia and who hopes to receive 1 million cards.

• Write 41 letters to senators and 30 letters to soldiers.

Serving others is a proud Simpson College tradition. The college has been listed by Newsweek magazine as one of the nation’s “Top 25 Schools for Do-Gooders,” and Washington Monthly recognized Simpson as one of the top service-minded colleges in the country.