In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 17, volunteers will paint two homes in Old South Baton Rouge (OSBR) and plant a vegetable garden at Polk Elementary School.

As part of the fourth round of its OSBR Home Rehabilitation Grant program, the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX) will partner with Louisiana State University Community University Partnership and LSU Office of Multicultural Affairs to paint the exterior of the homes located on Thomas H. Delpit. The Polk Elementary garden comes as part of CPEX’s burgeoning Community Gardens Initiative.

“It is a great opportunity for our Home Rehab Program to help repair owner-occupied homes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, nurturing the spirit of community service and recognizing the pride of this historic community," says Boo Thomas, executive director for CPEX.

The Home Rehabilitation grants are funded by the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, NeighborWorks America, the East Baton Rouge Mortgage Finance Authority, the Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, Capital One, and Chase.