This year's free-will offering at the Governor's Prayer Breakfast raised another $2,157 for Jefferson City's Samaritan Center, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced Friday.
Nixon began asking for the donations in January 2010, his first year hosting the annual event.
In those six years, the Prayer Breakfast offerings have raised $17,896 for the interfaith social services agency that has helped Mid-Missourians with emergency and crisis needs since 1987.
"Organizations like the Samaritan Center put their faith into action every day by helping Missouri families in need," Nixon said in a news release. "The generosity of those attending the Prayer Breakfast will help the center in providing for even more Missourians, and is an inspiration for all of us to give generously."
The Samaritan Center donations were in addition to the thousands of dollars from the breakfast that benefited the Governor's Student Leadership Forum on Faith and Values, which included several Lincoln University students, as well as other college and university students from around the state.
With many people off work Monday for the national holiday, the governor on Friday also encouraged Missourians to honor Martin Luther King Jr. by participating in Monday's National Day of Service.
The National Day of Service is set aside to honor King's legacy through volunteer service to the community.
"The National Day of Service provides an excellent focus on serving others, and the ways we can help our neighbors and our communities are almost endless," Nixon said. "Please take a few hours on Monday to donate your time and your talent for this effort, because you will be the one reaping the greatest reward."