Playbill has partnered with Inspired to create and amplify stories of inspiration that advocate for access to arts and cultural experiences for young people across the country. The following article is written by the team at Situation Project and adapted from their online publication Inspired. Click here to learn more.

MLK Day asks more of us than reflection. Each January, as the city settles into winter and the rush of the holidays fades, isolation becomes sharper—especially for older adults living alone. This year, Situation Group is marking MLK Day by stepping into that quiet with intention, partnering with Encore Community Services, a Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS beneficiary organization, to support their meal delivery initiative serving homebound older adults on Manhattan’s West Side.

Situation Group Is Working With Encore Community Services on Their Meal Delivery Initiative

Encore Community Services delivers meals five days a week to older adults living between 14th Street and 110th Street—neighbors who often face food insecurity and deep isolation. After a brief orientation, volunteers head out on foot or via Lyft (provided by Encore), handcarts stocked with meals and route sheets in hand, delivering nourishment and a warm greeting along the way.

On MLK Day, Situation Group team members took part in these deliveries, joining a larger volunteer effort across the city. Earlier in the week, our team also hosted an in-office card-making project, creating handwritten notes to accompany the meals—small messages designed to remind recipients they are seen and valued.

As Samara Berger, Executive Director of Situation Project, shared, “This kind of work reflects a core belief behind our impact efforts: service is most powerful when it’s personal. Rather than treating MLK Day as a pause from work, it becomes an extension of it—showing up for people in tangible ways that honor dignity and connection.”

Broadway Cares, Community Care, and Showing Up

Encore’s work as a Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS beneficiary organization is a reminder that care takes many forms—and that the Broadway community’s commitment to equity and support extends far beyond the stage.

This activation sits within Situation Group’s broader commitment to impact through Situation Project, where proximity, access, and human connection guide our approach. Whether opening doors to arts and cultural experiences or delivering meals to older adults, the throughline remains the same: impact is relational.

One Situation Group employee volunteering with Encore put it simply—”delivering meals isn’t abstract impact. It’s walking a route, knocking on a door, and seeing someone’s face soften when they realize they’re not alone that day.”

A Commitment That Extends Beyond One Day

MLK Day may be the catalyst, but the values behind this activation extend far beyond a single Monday in January. They live in how we partner, how we give, and how we choose to engage with the city around us.

Impact doesn’t always look like a spotlight. Sometimes it looks like a handwritten card, a shared hello, or a warm meal delivered right on time.

Inspired was created by Situation Project 501(c)3.