In 1994, Congress declared the third Monday of January a federal holiday and national day of public service to celebrate the life and contributions of an important figure in American history, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK). Many students choose to participate in this day by volunteering to help in their communities. This year, the holiday falls on January 21, 2013.

As an F or M student, you may volunteer, but you must make sure you are maintaining your student status by complying with Department of Homeland Security rules and regulations.

As an F or M student, you may volunteer under the following conditions:

• You do not receive any form of taxable income from your volunteer activity.
• If the volunteer position is one for which an employer would otherwise officially hire someone, you may only work there with work authorization from either your designated school official or from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

A useful source of information is Serve.gov, a comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities. You can use the website to find a volunteer opportunity, read inspiring stories of service, create your own project, register your project and recruit volunteers or share your story. You can also find MLK Day-specific projects on the official MLK Day website.