The Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee of the Rollins School of Public Health and the Goizueta Business School of Emory University seeks to recognize those members of our community who build awareness, speak on behalf of justice, celebrate diversity, and impel action in building a better future for all mankind. Award recipients will be those organizations that meet these criteria and embody the values articulated by Martin Luther King, Jr.

This year's for the MLK Community Service Awards is "Illuminating Vulnerabilities in the Midst of the Storm: Social Justice Issues and Service Opportunities Arising out of Natural Disasters".

In our selection process, we endeavor to honor individuals and organizations that excel within one of the following topic areas of our larger theme.

Service and Advocacy: Who will give voice to the marginalized?
Natural disasters disproportionately affect the poorest citizens who cannot afford to rebuild their lives. We encourage the nomination of individuals and organizations that provide services and/or advocacy for the human rights of those marginalized because of poverty, race or ethnicity, national origin, gender, or age.

Programs for Children: Who will stand for our children?
Children often have great difficulty adapting to natural disasters and their aftermath. We seek nominations for those individuals and organizations that invest their resources for the well-being of children - our future. We are soliciting the nomination of individuals and organizations that confront the issues faced by children through the construction of effective programs and advocacy.

Innovation for Change: Who will have the courage to innovate?
Drastic events such as natural disasters require interventions on a massive scale with widespread participation. However, the most effective interventions are often the most innovative. We are soliciting the nominations of individuals and organizations that apply innovation and creativity for addressing societal issues. Our aim is to celebrate nominees who have constructed new ways to address persistent challenges in the lives of the marginalized.

Historical and Cultural Preservation: Who will help preserve important culture and history for future generations?
The lessons from the past provide direction for the future. Preserving the past and unique cultural icons is both critical and extremely difficult after a natural disaster. Thus, we are seeking nominees whose focus is on the preservation of the past as an avenue for community building.