Leading Through Service: Q&A with Fulfill Board Member Janelle Griffith
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that “everybody can be great because anyone can serve.” Each year, MLK Day of Service calls on us to turn compassion into action – serving others, confronting injustice and building a more equitable future for all. Dr. King’s legacy is not only remembered through words but through meaningful action. Since service is at the heart of everything we do here at Fulfill, MLK Day is a powerful reminder of our shared responsibility to uplift our neighbors and strengthen our communities.
This past MLK Day of Service, Fulfill board member Janelle Griffith volunteered alongside members of her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, and many other incredible organizations, helping to support our mission to end hunger in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Below, Janelle shares her thoughts on service, leadership and why volunteering remains essential to our work:
What does MLK Day of Service mean to you?
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is never a day off; it’s a day ON. It’s an opportunity to move from appreciating Dr. King’s work to taking action. His work was never abstract; it was practical, demanding and rooted in improving daily life for real people. Service is one of the most meaningful ways to honor that legacy because it closes the gap between what we say we value and the action that flows from what we truly value.
I remember when Fulfill’s doors were closed on MLK Day of Service and I had an impassioned conversation with our then-new President and CEO, Triada Stampas, about the importance of opening them to the community on the only nationally recognized Day of Service. Triada immediately understood the significance. Under her leadership, Fulfill’s doors have been open every MLK Day of Service since. This is tremendously meaningful because it’s a reminder that progress is built through sustained effort, not a single moment.
This year, you volunteered alongside members of Delta Sigma Theta. What is Delta Sigma Theta? How did you get involved with this organization? Tell us about your sorority.
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is a public service organization with a long legacy of scholarship, sisterhood and social action. I was drawn to the consistency, the standards and the expectation of disciplined focus on hands-on and impact-driven work.
I have always believed in service, community leadership and advocacy, especially for communities that are too often overlooked. I’m a member of organizations that allow me to multiply my impact through collective effort, where service is not occasional, but embedded in the culture.
Why was it important to serve together as a group?
Serving together matters because the work is bigger than any individual. It creates accountability, energy and momentum. It also sends a message to the community that hunger is not “someone else’s issue,” it is our shared responsibility.
Dr. King emphasized collective responsibility and community care. How do those values guide your approach to service and leadership?
I lead with the belief that leadership is stewardship. If you have influence, resources or access, you have an obligation to use them to strengthen the community. Collective responsibility means we stop treating hardship as a personal failure and start addressing the systems and gaps that create it.
How does hands-on service inform your work as a Fulfill board member?
Hands-on service keeps governance rooted and grounded. It allows for a perspective that sharpens board-level decision-making because it connects strategy to reality. It also reinforces urgency. Hunger is not theoretical; it is the real-life experience of many of our neighbors and it requires operational excellence, smart partnerships and constant improvement.
Why is collective action so important in fighting hunger?
Hunger is not a singular problem with a singular solution. It requires more than emergency relief or a meal here and there. Food insecurity is connected to income instability, housing costs, health, transportation and access to benefits. No one person or organization can solve that alone.
Collective action allows us to scale impact by bringing together volunteers, donors, government partners, schools, health systems, faith communities and employers. That is how you build an ecosystem that can respond consistently, not just in emergencies.
As a Fulfill board member, why is it important to you to lead by example through hands-on volunteerism – especially on MLK Day?
Leadership without presence is incomplete. Volunteering has never been symbolic for me; it is part of staying connected to Fulfill’s mission and the people who make it real every day.
In his letter from the Birmingham Jail, Dr. King noted that he traveled to Birmingham because he could not “sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham.” He made clear why hands-on service is required when he wrote that “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.” On Martin Luther King Jr. Day specifically, it is important to demonstrate that service is not a badge or slogan. It is a visible commitment to our interconnectedness and a choice of action over lip service.
How can the community help address hunger in Monmouth and Ocean Counties?
There are several ways that the community can play a role. These include:
Fulfill is not just distributing food; it is building stability for families across Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The impact is measured in meals, but also in dignity, access, and community resilience.
If someone is considering volunteering, I would say this: Start once, then make it a habit. The need is consistent and solutions only become real when people keep showing up.
To learn how to get involved with Fulfill, visit https://fulfillnj.org/ways-to-help/.