Freedom Rides On!

This year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders and the 27th anniversary of the Dr. King holiday in Colorado 27 years of keeping Dr. Kings dream of Freedom, Hope, Justice, Peace, and brotherhood alive. In 1961, while addressing the Freedom Riders Dr. King stated, Through our scientific and technological developments we have lifted our heads to the skies and yet our feet are still firmly planted in the muck of barbarism and racial hatred. Indeed this is Americas chief moral dilemma. Although we are still facing some of these same issues fifty years later; there are those who are seeking to ensure that Freedom Rides On for all people.

Therefore, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Holiday Commissions Humanitarian Awards Committee is seeking nominations of individuals or organizations that have given freely from their hearts to others, who have given their talent, time, and energy to meet unmet needs, stir hope, speak for the voiceless, and build a better world, if for just one person at a time.

Adults, young people, organizations, and groups who volunteer their time and talents are our focus. We also seek people working in service positions whose passion for the people or causes they serve pushes them to regularly go above and beyond their job duties. We are equally interested in those youth who are setting an example for all in the Colorado community.

We want to honor six of these "message carriers" on Tuesday, January 10, 2012, with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award, to be presented during a community reception and concert by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra that is held annually to celebrate Dr. King's life and work.

Your nominee will be in excellent company. Humanitarian recipients have come from all walks of life, but each has been driven, as Dr. King was, by a desire to help make the world a better place. Past recipients of the Humanitarian Awards are listed on the back of this letter. Current Humanitarian Awards Committee members are not eligible for consideration; their names are listed on the left.

The form is also available online at www.drmartlkingjrchc.org under "Humanitarian Awards." Feel free to download and copy the form and share it with others. Please mail, e-mail, or fax your nomination of the enclosed form by 5 p.m. Friday, December 2, 2012.

Download 2012 Humanitarian Award Nomination Form (PDF)