Many thanks to the more than 70,000 volunteers of all ages and backgrounds, who served in 1,100 service projects in the 15th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, once again the largest King Day event in the nation.
We started the first King Day of Service in the nation here in Philadelphia in 1996 with 1,000 volunteers, mostly Philadelphia public school students, and have engaged some 575,000 over the past fifteen years. What started in here as a project has turned into a growing national movement.
The national King Day of Service was created in 1994 through federal legislation co-authored by former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, both veterans of the civil rights movement with Dr. King.
A diverse array of our 2010 participants included students of all ages from public, private, and parochial schools and colleges, senior citizens, members of community, religious, civic and non-profit organizations, businesses, AmeriCorps members, elected officials and families.
Girard College hosted the area’s signature project, which included Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former U.S. Senator Harris Wofford, Congressmen Chaka Fattah, Allyson Schwartz, and Joe Sestak, five 2010 Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidates and Girard College President Autumn Adkins. They led some 3,000 volunteers from throughout the region in 175 projects on Girard College’s campus.
Girard College’s selection as this year’s signature project site came on the 45th anniversary of Dr. King marching and speaking outside the gates of the school, calling for an end to the discriminatory admissions policy set forth in the will of its founder, Steven Girard. The day kicked off with an opening ceremony. We were thrilled to bring thousands of volunteers to Girard College, a Philadelphia treasure, which played an important role in the civil rights movement. We know of the history, leadership, and sacrifices made by Dr. King, but there were also thousands of foot soldiers at Girard College, led by then local NAACP President Cecil B. Moore and the Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters. We were fortunate to have many of the Freedom Fighters organizing with us and working with Girard College students in workshops so they could appreciate, first-hand, their struggle that led to an equitable admissions policy.
Girard College President Autumn Adkins welcomed everyone to the school, saying, “Girard College considers our hosting of the 15th Annual King Day of Service a privilege and an important way for us to continue the realization of our mission. We strive to teach our students how to be effective citizens, a long-standing foundation of our institutional purpose. Hosting this event not only provides the Girard College Community with an opportunity to serve the Philadelphia region, it honors the legacy of King, the freedom marchers, and many other Philadelphians who fought for this historic institution to educate boys and girls of all races. We also view this as a wonderful opportunity for thousands of new people to come behind the walls that surround us and learn more about Stephen Girard’s remarkable life and Girard College.”
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter echoed his support for the efforts of more than 70,000 local King Day of Service volunteers and announced a major effort to step up the city’s commitment to volunteer service. "As tens of thousands of Philadelphians are hard at work at project sites across the city to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we have just received a major foundation grant, which will boost volunteer efforts in Philadelphia," said Mayor Nutter. "This funding allows us to implement a comprehensive civic engagement plan that will ensure volunteer efforts throughout Philadelphia are focused around our goals for a safer, greener, and better educated city. The grant is a tribute to what our city has already accomplished and we thank Cities of Service and the Rockefeller Foundation for this recognition and support."
The opening ceremony included a focus on the recent earthquake in Haiti. Tom Foley, President and CEO of the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, asked everyone to pull out their mobile phones and led the thousands assembled by texting $10 contribution to the Red Cross relief effort. Dr. King said, “We must have a world perspective. No nation can live alone and no man can live alone.” I can not imagine celebrating Dr. King’s legacy of reaching out to the most vulnerable in society and not focus on the devastating plight of hundreds of thousands of Haitians and their families.”
Highlighting the events at Girard College was Target presenting a weatherization project, organized by the Energy Coordinating Agency. Volunteers, led by Mayor Nutter, sorted and assembled weatherizing kits for low-income people, which included caulking, plastic for covering windows, and compact fluorescent light bulbs. Other volunteers participated in training workshops on weatherization techniques that they will use to train others. Two hundred additional volunteers canvassed the adjoining North Philadelphia neighborhood to distribute 15,000 free compact fluorescent light bulbs donated by PECO Energy.
The African American Museum in Philadelphia sponsored a wonderful exhibition of Girard College and civil rights photographs by Jack T. Franklin. Franklin captured Dr. King leading the 1965 protest at Girard College and chronicled the civil rights movement in more than 400,000 photographs currently house at the museum.
The American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania led volunteers assembling bags of essential emergency items for area fire victims. MANNA presented volunteers preparing one thousand breakfast meals, which were delivered to people at acute nutritional risk from life threatening illnesses. MANNA volunteers also prepared 500 dinners for the homeless men, women and children, which were delivered in the afternoon to volunteers with African Daughters of Fine Lineage, an organization that has been working with the city’s homeless for nearly 20 years.
Students from the Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy and the Perelman Jewish Day School volunteered together for the ninth straight year by preparing “dignity kits,” which they presented to the homeless outside the Municipal Service Building. The kits included basic toiletries and clothing. The United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania presented volunteers making four hundred chalkboards, which will be donated to forty area childcare centers funded through their Success by Six initiative. Volunteers with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program painted a Civil Rights mural.
The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and the Philadelphia Police and Fire Departments presented a Personal and Family Preparedness Workshop, which included information on caring for pets. The Philadelphia Police Department held a workshop with neighboring community members to launch their new Police Services Area (PSA) program.
Vanguard presented a coat, pajama, and food drive led by the Salvation Army to benefit area people in need. Philadelphia Cares also led a coat drive. In a project presented by the Comcast Foundation, Philadelphia Reads trained volunteers to become ongoing reading coaches, who then read with younger children about Dr. King's life and legacy. PNC presented the After School Activities Program (ASAP) chess mentors training.
Students throughout the area read Faith Ringold’s My Dream of Martin Luther King as part of the second annual One King Day, One King Book project to encourage children to read, write, and discuss essays about Dr. King. Children have been submitting essays and each is receiving a King Day of Service certificate.
One Day at a Time and Pro-Act led a Mass Action Speak Out on issues including incarceration, homelessness, and mental health. The event was preceded by a neighborhood clean up at the Winchester Playground in North Philadelphia, followed by a march to Girard College from the Martin Luther King Recreation Center.
Global Citizen, the U.S. Census, Philly Counts, the City of Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition presented a MLK365 Civic Engagement Expo, which provided information on the mission and work of some sixty local community organizations and the opportunity for volunteers to sign up to volunteer throughout the year.
McNeil Consumer Healthcare presented a Health and Wellness Fair, which featured a CPR training presented by AmeriChoice and United Healthcare, and dozens more organizations providing expert advice, testing, and screening in areas including cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, eating disorders and fitness.
Target presented a Kid’s Carnival for children ages of 5-12, Projects included story reading about Dr. King, I Have A Dream mobile-making, science demonstrations, skits on Dr. King and civil rights, entertainment and more.
In an expanded effort to reach children, the King Day of Service made its coloring and activity book available to help kids learn about Dr. King’s ideals of civil rights and civic responsibilities. The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program led a civil rights mural coloring project.
Global Citizen distributed bookmarkers with suggested readings on Dr. King for children and adults. City Commissioner Marge Tartaglione’s office helped future voters try out the first responsibility of citizenship in a demonstration of voting booths used in real elections.
Wawa donated breakfast for the volunteers. Brown’s ShopRite, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1776, and ARAMARK donated lunches.
There were projects at dozens of Philadelphia public schools and hundreds of other schools throughout the region. Volunteers beautified city recreation centers. The Philadelphia Fire Department organized dozens of neighborhood outreach projects on fire safety. Reading coaches and chess and scrabble mentors trained at area sites and Habitat for Humanity volunteers renovated houses throughout the region. Other King Day volunteers prepared food at homeless shelters and distributed meals to homebound seniors, organized health fairs and legal clinics, and performed plays about Dr. King and his principles of nonviolent social change.
Among the 1,100 projects throughout the region were:
Philadelphia
- EducationWorks led workshops at South Philadelphia High School for African American and Asian students to promote racial harmony and healing in the aftermath of recent racial violence at the school. The day included a “Gathering of Unity” ceremony at the school.
- City Year AmeriCorps members painted and beautified Olney High School.
- The African Daughters of Fine Lineage and MANNA prepared food for the homeless.
- Students from the Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy and the Perelman Jewish Day School assembled and delivered Dignity Kits.
- Philadelphia Fire Department Engine 50 installed smoke detectors for area residents.
- The Philadelphia Housing Authority led a Healthy Lifestyles project, which included health screenings, HIV testing, and other information about health awareness.
- Students from the Philadelphia School prepared 500 sandwiches and 500 deserts from for several homeless shelters. They also made snack packages for the Mighty Writers After School Program.
- Volunteers beautified the Martin Luther King Recreation Center.
- Greene Street Friends School hosted a Red Cross Blood Drive, ceramic bowl-making project for Empty Bowls, a breakfast bag-making project for Aid for Friends, a school supply kits project for the Mennonite Central Committee, and a neighborhood clean up and paper flower-making project for hospital patients.
- Students from the Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice led a teach-in on social justice and cultural awareness utilizing music and visual arts.
Montgomery County, PA
- Employees of McNeil Consumer Healthcare assembled Johnson & Johnson products to create 500 hygiene kits, to be donated to homeless men and women in Philadelphia shelters.
- Haverford School students collected books and clothing, Huggable Heart pillows for cardiac patient in Bryn Mawr Hospital, placemats and decorative pillows for children in homeless shelters.
- French International School students decorated and packed paper bags with small donated toys, collected data on the quality of local stream water, constructed eleven Bluebird houses, stuffed backpacks with donated school supplies for delivery to an orphanage in Haiti, packed bags with gifts for infants and educational materials to be distributed to new fathers in distressed neighborhoods.
- Greater Norristown Police Athletic League painted their building, broke ground for a garden, reorganized the library and cleaned storage rooms.
- Har Zion Temple members knitted blankets for veterans and shelters, collected and sorted books for Philadelphia Reads, and cooked and packed meals for seniors. They held a blood drive, children`s craft activity, and recorded books on tape for Philadelphia and Montgomery County schools.
Bucks County, PA
- Church of Latter Day Saints volunteers assembled and packaged blizzard bags.
- Council Rock School District and Council Roc Cares packed food, baby items, and snack bags for Bucks County shelters and the American Red Cross
- Kiwanis and Girl Scouts made breakfast bags and get well cards for Aid for Friends.
- St. Pauls Lutheran Church and Central Bucks Cares sewed knitted squares into lap blankets and packaged breakfast items for homebound people.
Delaware County, PA
- Yeadon NAACP painted and beautified the Penn Wood High School.
- Indian Lane Elementary School held a concert of international songs, played bingo with seniors, and wrote letters to soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- Neighbor to Neighbor Community Development Corporation beautified the First African Baptist Church in Sharon Hill.
- Ithan, Wayne, and Radnor elementary schools collected and assembled toiletry kits, snack bags, for seniors.
Chester County, PA
- West Chester University students served all day in an array of service projects, educational workshops.
- Girl Scouts donated made breakfast bags and donated frozen trays to Aid for Friends.
- Phoenixville Area Community Services volunteers painted, repaired, and beautified building, reorganized food pantry.
- Barkley Friends School students engaged senior citizens with, books, magazines, writing letters, music.
Other Projects In Pennsylvania
- United Way of Wayne County prepared and sorted donations to be distributed to nonprofit agencies.
- Crispus Attucks Association in York hosted a Red Cross blood drive, prepared and delivered meals for community members in need, visited a nursing home, volunteered at the York Food Bank, held financial literacy workshops, recorded oral history and held a Health and Education Fair.
- Volunteer Center of Lehigh County in Bethlehem volunteers tutored students by reading a book on Dr. King and made “I Have a Dream” tiles for a mural.
- Kutztown University students visited a children’s home where they painted a mural and read books. They also sorted food at a food bank, reorganized artifacts at the Fireman’s Museum, and built shelves for the Boone area Library.
- RSVP of the Capital Region in Harrisburg held a book drive for young readers.
Camden County, NJ
- Cherry Hill High School West students cleaned and painted the school, made get well cards for sick children in area hospitals collected and sorted food for the Cherry Hill Food Bank and made sandwiches for the Cathedral Kitchen in Camden.
- A. Russell Knight Elementary School students decorated placemats and delivered them to the Cathedral Mission.
Burlington County, NJ
- Volunteer Center of Burlington County collected items for the Burlington County Animal Shelter and made cards for residents of Buttonwood Hospital.
- Twin Hills Elementary School students made and served meals to families at a women’s shelter.
New Jersey – Other Projects
- EducationWorks in Trenton collected can goods and distributed them to families in need.
- HOPE worldwide in Newark canvassed neighborhoods delivering fire safety information.
- Richard Stockton State College of New Jersey in Pomona sorted and packed educational books to be shipped to schools in developing countries, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a homeless shelter, constructed teddy bears for pediatric hospital patients and cards for the Hugs and Hope Project.
Delaware Projects
- Delaware State Office of Volunteerism in Wilmington held a resource fair, children’s activity zone, post-high school education fair, and science projects for children and collected socks for Hope Dining Room.
- Goldey Beacom College in Wilmington collected and cleaned books, which are being donated to organizations in Africa.
- Sterling Rehabilitation and Nursing volunteers participated in arts and crafts projects, bingo, and reading magazines to the residents.
A record fifty-five King Day of Service sponsors were led by Target. “Target is proud to partner with programs such as the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, which help make a difference to inspire and engage community members,” said Laysha Ward, president, community relations, Target. “Just as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pioneer in bringing people together, we hope that our ongoing support to the communities we serve will unify and create a positive and lasting impact.”
Joining Target as sponsors were Global Citizen, United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, Sunoco, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Comcast Foundation, Girard College, Vanguard, League Collegiate Wear, Citi, AmeriChoice, United Healthcare, U.S. Census, Philly Counts, City of Philadelphia, AstraZeneca, PNC, Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, Philly.com, School District of Philadelphia, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, AARP, Garfield Refining, Saul Ewing LLP, McNeil Nutritionals, Wachovia, Annie E. Casey Foundation, H.F. Lenfest, Public Financial Management, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, ARAMARK, Energy Coordinating Agency, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, GlaxoSmithKline, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Temple University, High Point Café, Brown’s ShopRite, United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1776, Donegan Design, MANNA, Unity Community Center, Corporation for National and Community Service, Wawa, PennSERVE: The Governor’s Office of Citizen Service, City Year, YouthBuild, Peco Energy, Salvation Army, Independence Blue Cross, Pleasant News and Honest Tea.
Organizations interested in becoming sponsors of Global Citizen’s ongoing MLK365 program should contact Todd Bernstein at tbernstein@globalcitizen.us.com or 215.242.9070.
The 2010 King Day of Service was chaired by Senator Wofford, Jill Michal, president and chief executive officer of the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Autumn Adkins, president of Girard College, Rev. Audrey Bronson, president of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, Arlene Ackerman, superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, Leonard Barrack, chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Charles Ramsey, commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department, Lloyd Ayers, commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department, Reverend Bonnie Camarda, director of partnerships at the Salvation Army, the Honorable Ida Chen, judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, Tom Foley, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Rob Wonderling, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Congress and David Brown, president of Brown Partners. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter serve as honorary co-chairs.
The King Day of Service included reflection led by City Year AmeriCorps members.
The 2010 King Day of Service, which included Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, was organized through our organization Global Citizen- www.globalcitizen.us.com.
Dr King said, “Life's persistent and most urgent question is, what are you doing for others," The selfless action of more than 70,000 citizen volunteers who served in the King Day of Service and will continue throughout the year represents a resounding and affirmative answer to Dr. King’s question.
Best regards,
Todd Bernstein
President
Global Citizen
Director & Founder
MLK 365 & Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service