Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! Take time today to honor his message of peace, social justice, and human rights. Democracy Now (on Pacifica Radio) ran excerpts of some of his later speeches, focusing on anti-war and anti-poverty themes.

As the first federal holiday after New Year’s Day, MLK Day begins the run of special days to watch out for in 2012. I’ve been doing a lot of planning lately and found these great resources to share. See if you can find ways for your organization to tie into these special days:

1)     If you share my preference for an old-school (recycled) paper calendar, you probably already have a list of many traditional and well-known holidays. I found a list online of some lesser-known ones.

2)      You may also be interested in these special days and weeks related to volunteerism.

3)     Finally, check out this handy calendar of 2012 nonprofit, social entrepreneurship, and social change conferences around the world. Feel free to add  your own.

Happy planning!