Apple adds VolunteerMatch guides to Apple Maps ahead of MLK Day of Service – CNET

Apple has teamed up with VolunteerMatch to help people find a new way to give back to their communities this Monday, which is a federal holiday to celebrate civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.

The new feature is built into Apple’s Maps program on its iPhones and iPads. Normally, when the map shows a city such as San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta or New York City, users can swipe up from the search bar to find items curated by local newspapers and activity-guide companies, ranging from bike trails to lists of lesser-known restaurants and sights. Now it has guides listed by VolunteerMatch too.

“Be a force for kindness and healing for our communities, and give in ways that matter,” the guide says, along with a list of volunteer organizations.

The move is the latest way Apple has worked to support community, education and social justice organizations over the past couple of years. 

CEO Tim Cook, who keeps photos of King in his office, announced earlier this week an array of investments in historical black colleges and universities, app development centers and investments in racial justice organizations. As part of that announcement, Apple also donated to The King Center in Atlanta, which acts as a memorial for King. In the past, the company has donated to other civil rights nonprofits, including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama.

In the past, Apple has dedicated its home page, one of the most popular destinations on the internet, to King. And when Congressman John Lewis died last summer, Apple changed its home page to honor his civil rights leadership, too.