HURLEYVILLE, NY — The third annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Youth Summit will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, January 12, at the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre (HPAC). 

This is a free event, open to Sullivan County youth in grades 11 and 12. 

The youth summit focuses on the importance of youth voices and the ability of young people to act for change. It offers a chance to create their personal blueprint for life, an HPAC spokesperson said. 

Back by popular demand will be keynote speaker Duncan Kirkwood, director of the Center for Resiliency at Villa Maria College in Buffalo. Kirkwood is also an Army National Guard master resilience trainer and is the author of “Rerouting: Resilience Tools and Tactics.”

The day will also feature the famous Dr. King speech “Blueprint for Life,” which focuses on the principles of believing in oneself, determination and commitment.

Each student will receive credit for four hours of community service time, to be used toward graduation requirements. 

The MLK Day of Service Youth Summit is presented by Sullivan 180, Action Toward Independence, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County, the Hurleyville Performing Arts Centre, MISN CAPP (Maternal Infant Services Network Comprehensive Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention), Rural Migrant Ministries—YEG (Youth Economic Group), SALT (Sullivan Allies Leading Together), the Sullivan County Youth Bureau, the Center for Workforce Development and the group Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Teachers. 

To learn more or get involved with the youth summit, email Amanda Langseder, Sullivan 180 managing director, at amanda@sullivan180.org or call 845/295-2681.