Mayor Cherelle Parker helps launch 29th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service

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Annual Harris Wofford award is presented.

ABOVE PHOTO: MAYOR CHERELLE PARKER speaks at the recent press conference for the 2024 Global Citizen’s Greater Philadelphia MLK Day of Service.
Video grab: Global Citizen

PHILADELPHIA– Organizers, sponsors, and community partners joined together recently in a ceremony at Girard College to announce plans for the upcoming 29th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service on the January 15 federal holiday. The Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service is the oldest and largest King Day event in the nation and includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The national King Day of Service was created in 1994 through federal legislation co-authored by Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, both veterans of the civil rights movement with Dr. King.

Girard College will serve as the region’s signature project site for the 15th consecutive year. “Girard College is honored to serve once more as the signature site for Global Citizen’s Greater Philadelphia MLK Day of Service,” said David Hardy, president of Girard College. “This year, Girard celebrates 175 years of being our region’s only independent, private, tuition-free residential college preparatory 1st through 12th grade school. Our mission is to transform the lives of young men and women into the next generation of leaders in our society.”

The overarching theme for the 29th annual King Day of Service is the 60th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. “Sixty years after Dr. King led a movement to pass the landmark Civil Rights Act, efforts to reverse civil rights are ever preset,” said Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen and founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. “The King Day of Service is not just a birthday celebration. It is an opportunity to make Dr. King’s legacy of social justice our mission too, not just on King Day, but every day with, as he would say, ‘a fierce urgency of now.’”

Signature projects opportunities at Girard College will include:

• Supporting victims of gun violence- When victims of gun violence are released from area hospitals, particularly those who live in poverty, they may seek emergency housing and lack basic hygiene resources. On January 15, volunteers will sort and pack the hygiene kits, which will be distributed to outgoing patients in-need through local hospitals. This is a partnership among Thomas Jefferson University, Penn Medicine, Temple University Hospital, and Highmark Wholecare.
• Promoting voting rights- Mural Arts Philadelphia will lead an art-making project that centers on voting rights. Volunteers will learn about the history and current issues around voting rights and engage in a hands-on printmaking activity. At the end of the session, volunteers will have created meaningful art pieces that will be displayed across the Philadelphia-area to promote voter education, registration, and participation.
• Sorting, packing, and distributing voter information packets- The Committee of Seventy, Philadelphia City Commissioners, Pa. Youth Vote, and the Pennsylvania Department of State will provide literature and other items, which volunteers will sort into packets for distribution to households in Philadelphia neighborhoods, particularly those with a history of underperforming voter turnout.

There will also be a Rally for Peace & Justice at Noon, focusing on gun violence prevention and voting rights, spearheaded by the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity’s 57 Blocks Project and a cultural presentation by the Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters, the organization that led efforts to desegregate Girard College in the 1960’s.

A Health & Wellness Fair, led by the Black Doctors Consortium, will include professionals providing information and guidance on community health services, including behavioral health.

Other projects taking place on the Girard College campus will include:

• Global Citizen, in partnership with the Read by 4th Campaign, will lead a Reading Coach training, an initiative which protects every child’s right to read in Philadelphia by connecting community volunteers with a citywide movement for early literacy.
• The Philadelphia Fire Department will lead CPR training.
• Educational activities promoting children’s literacy will include reading stories about Dr. King and the civil rights movement, coloring books, watching Dr. King’s speeches, and distributing free books.
• Voter education and registration.
• The 13th annual Civic Engagement Expo will provide an opportunity to learn more about the mission and work of local community organizations, and opportunities to volunteer.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker presented the 26th annual Harris Wofford Active Citizenship Award to Ed Hazzouri, Chairman of Hazzouri and Associates “for your tireless support of Global Citizen and the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service.”

PHOTO: Global Citizen

Previous award winners– Scott Charles, Trauma Outreach Manager for Temple University Hospital, former Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, Dr. Ala Stanford, the Urban Affairs Coalition, Ready, Willing and Able, Rev. David Brown, Mary Strasser, Eastern State Penitentiary, WURD Radio, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, Loraine Ballard Morrill, Ken Salaam, Philadelphia Fire Department, Vanguard, YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, Sacaree Rhodes, Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy and Perelman Jewish Day School, Rev. Henry Wells, City Year Greater Philadelphia, Cristine James Brown, the School District of Philadelphia, Mural Arts Philadelphia, National School and Community Corps, Woodlynde School and Jack Neary.

The news conference included the unveiling of a voting rights themed mural led by Mural Arts Philadelphia’s (MAP) Sahiti Bonam and artists Dyymond Whipper-Young and Priscilla Bell. Student artists selected from four area-schools — Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy, Barrack Hebrew Academy, Girard College and James Rhoads Elementary School — were given an assignment to “depict images underscoring the importance of voting and the values of democracy.”

The artists worked for two months with the students on visits to each school, The students discussed, designed, and painted individual 5’X5’ panels, which were joined together and unveiled as one dramatic 5’X20’ mural. MAP executive director Jane Golden spoke about the project and was joined by student speakers from each school, who shared the meaning and relevance of their murals.

Philadelphia Orchestra Vice President for Education and Community Danielle Allen announced plans for the 34th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert, presented by PECO. The concert, to be led by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, will take place for the tenth year in the Girard College Chapel on January 15 beginning at 3 pm (doors open at 2 p.m.). Free tickets are available; visit: www.philorch.org/mlk2024.

PHOTO: Global Citizen

A focus on economic justice will include the 13th annual Jobs & Opportunity Fair on Tuesday, January 16, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at Temple University’s Howard Gittis Student Center. Job seekers will choose among more than thirty-five employers with available opportunities. The jobs fair is a partnership between Global Citizen, the Urban League of Philadelphia, and Temple University. For more information and to register online at: https://volunteer.globalcitizen365.org/jobsfair.

Nearly fifty King Day of Service sponsors are led by Independence Blue Cross and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. They are joined by Girard College, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, Highmark Wholecare, Vanguard, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Urban Affairs Coalition, Philadelphia Foundation, Wells Fargo, Giant Company, M&T Bank, PECO, Target, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Black Doctors Consortium, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Penn Medicine, Temple University Hospital, Liberty Coca Cola, Drexel University, Hazzouri and Associates, Gopuff, School District of Philadelphia, Greenberg Traurig, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, FS Investments, Youth Service America, Urban League of Philadelphia, iHeart Media, Cozen O’Connor, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Ready Willing and Able, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, High Point Café, WURD Radio, Spikes, City of Philadelphia, PennSERVE: The Governor’s Office of Citizen Service and Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters.

The 2024 King Day of Service is co-chaired by Mayor Cherelle Parker; Gregory E. Deavens, president & CEO, Independence Blue Cross; Bill Golderer, president & CEO, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey; David Hardy, president, Girard College; Rev. Dr. Alyn Waller, senior pastor, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church; Dr. Tony Watlington, superintendent, School District of Philadelphia; Pedro Ramos, president and CEO, the Philadelphia Foundation; Judge Ida Chen, Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas; Ed Hazzouri, chairman, Hazzouri & Associates; David Brown, professor, Temple University and Rev. Bonnie Camarda, president, Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia.

Updated information on service opportunities is available on Facebook at:www.facebook.com/globalcitizen365 and Twitter at: www.twitter.com/mlkdayofservice. The hashtag is #MLKDAY2024.

Global Citizen organizes the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service and year-round civic engagement programs. Anyone interested in volunteering or hosting a service project should register at mlkdayofservice.org or call 215-259-8374. For sponsorship information- [email protected].

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