Dubuque Volunteers “Go Green” to Honor Dr. King

By Katie Wiedemann, Reporter

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By Jaime Sharer

Story Created: Jan 17, 2012 at 1:22 AM CDT

Story Updated: Jan 17, 2012 at 10:24 AM CDT

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Traditionally volunteers across the country celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day by doing service work.

In Dubuque, volunteers focused their efforts on helping low-income families make their homes more energy efficient.

From the inside out, volunteers are hard at work.

Green Iowa’s Brandon Gibbs said, “We are caulking windows. We are insulating pipes. We are insulating switches. We’re just doing everything to make this house more energy efficient. ”

A simple transformation to keep the cold winter wind out of an old home.

Clarke University Student, Michael Mulloy said, “We’ve been putting some insulation in the basement and foaming it out to make sure no cold air gets in. ”

The volunteers are giving up their day off to help low-income families save money.

But how does this volunteer work promote Dr. King’s message? Volunteers say it’s simple.

Gibbs said, “Making a more inclusive community. Just making a better tomorrow. ”

Mulloy said, “Just being the person who stands up and says you know what I want to help out and do something good for somebody and you know what I don’t care if no one knows about it. ”

Using King’s historic message to find solutions for modern day issues.

Volunteers in Dubuque also spent time doing work for local non-profit organizations.

That included the public library and several homeless shelters.