The Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Justice, Equality and Service to Others
Shaping Summit Together is a 501c3 organization whose mission is to ensure that Summit reaches its full potential as a mature, diverse, suburban community. "SST" facilitates efforts so that Summit can work together to shape its future.
Our board is composed of community stakeholders representing not-for-profit organizations, community agencies, houses of worship, schools, grassroots volunteers.
Shaping Summit Together grew out of the Valuing Diversity Initiative and was previously called "Summit 2005" when the City of Summit and community stakeholders developed a ten-year plan to maximize Summit's potential according to a value system set forth at that time.
Programs include:
The Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service
The motto of this program in the spirit of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is:
Volunteer for an Hour. Serve for a Day. Change for a Lifetime.
Summit honors Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday with a community wide event entitled, A Day of Justice, Equality and Service to Others. The Day's events educate, raise awareness of and engage people in activities to help people experiencing hardship through circumstances arising from underlying injustice, inequality and/or situations beyond their control.
By volunteering side-by-side with people who are united in a common cause of "helping others", and the legacy of peaceful, non-violent action for social justice provided by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the goal is to build mutual respect, understanding and familiarity leading to fellowship and action on behalf of others. The Day of Justice, Equality and Service to Others commemorates the life and ideals of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and the work he did for the Civil Rights Movement. Set in a historical context of commemoration, the Day of Justice, Equality and Service to Others also seeks to educate, inspire and build relevance to the circumstances of the current time. It is held on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, a national holiday in January every year.
One Book One Community Program
The purpose of Summit's One Book One Community program is to use a book that is representative of a topic or interest most relevant to Summit (at the time leading up to the program) to engage the community in objective dialogue about the subject matter and potential implications on the community as a whole. The program seeks to engage book discussion groups across the community to dialogue about the book and its topic and to host a community-wide “culminating event” with the author and/or central character of the book or a panel of experts for insights and discussion. The program inspires community engagement through book discussions enabling a large body of people to read the book, discuss it in small groups and then engage with the larger community together on the topic addressed by the book. The One Book One Community Program is a collaborative initiative between the Summit Free Public Library, the Summit Interfaith Council, and other participating stakeholders of Shaping Summit Together, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
The Annual Red Ribbon Awareness Program
Text and logo coming soon.