Organizers of the annual King Day Celebration announced recently that they will donate half of the proceeds generated by the event to the Dougherty County School System's Student Disaster Relief Fund. 

Two storm systems moved through the area in January, spawning tornadoes that ripped killed five people, injured nearly 30 more, and caused millions in damages across the county.

The King Day Event pays homage to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who once famously marched with local civil rights organizers in Albany during the 1960's. 

"We thought that if we're going to be doing things in the name of M.L. King, we thought that one of the most humane things we could do was to split the proceeds from the dinner that usually comes to us, because we understand that there are several families, several children displaced," W. Frank Wilson, executive director of the Albany Civil Rights Institute said. "So I petitioned my board and my board unanimously agreed to approach the King Celebration committee about making that gesture." 

Dougherty County Board of Education Chair Velvet Riggins graciously accepted the news of the donation and thanked the committee members for their generosity.

"We're just so glad that the community can join with us to show these students that we do care about them and are here to help them," Riggins said. "Again, I just want to thank the community for their support and helping to show students that we will come back; that we're resilient and that we are Albany Strong."

If you'd like to donate to the DCSS Student Disaster Relief Fund, you can give here: http://bit.ly/DCSSStormReliefFund