A NATIONAL RECORD 140,000 VOLUNTEERS EXPECTED FOR ANNUAL GREATER PHILADELPHIA MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY OF SERVICE

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1 IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 6, ST For further information contact: Todd Bernstein at or (mobile) A NATIONAL RECORD 140,000 VOLUNTEERS EXPECTED FOR ANNUAL GREATER PHILADELPHIA MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY OF SERVICE ANNUAL CITIZENSHIP AWARD PRESENTED & STUDENTS CIVIL RIGHTS MURAL UNVEILED PHILADELPHIA, PA. Organizers, sponsors, and community partners joined together today in a ceremony at Girard College to announce plans for the upcoming 21st annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. Girard College will serve as the region s signature project site. Founder and director Todd Bernstein, who is also president of Global Citizen, announced that a national record 140,000 volunteers are expected to participate in some 1,800 community service projects throughout the region on the Monday, January 18 King federal holiday. The Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service includes projects throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Participants will include students of all ages from public, private, and parochial schools and colleges, senior citizens, community, religious, civic and non-profit organizations, businesses, military veterans, AmeriCorps members, elected officials and families. The national King Day of Service was created in 1994 through federal legislation coauthored by former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, both veterans of the civil rights movement with Dr. King. The 21st annual Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service will celebrate justice-- economic, racial, social, criminal and environmental and religious and the 60th Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Sixty years ago, in the spirit of justice, Rosa Parks refused to give up her on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, said Bernstein. That led to a movement, with Dr. King leading the way, for racial and economic justice. Sixty years later, the pursuit of justice is an issue that we are reminded of almost weekly as Black and Brown people are killed in confrontations with police. Dr. King s words are as relevant now as they were decades before when he said, Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. 1

2 Highlighting 5,000 volunteers who are expected to serve in some 150 King Day of Service projects, workshops and presentations at the Girard College signature project site, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney will lead others sorting and packing new and gently used donated business attire, that will be donated through local non profit organizations to low income and unemployed men and women seeking employment. The project is presented by Target and United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. Starting tomorrow, January 7 and continuing through Jan. 13, in partnership with i-heart Media and 900AM-WURD, donations of new and gently used clothing for job seekers will be accepted, including men s and women s suits, blazers, dresses, coats, business-casual pants, skirts, dress shirts, blouses, ties, dress shoes & socks. Donation drop-off locations are:! i-heart Media- 111 Presidential Blvd, Suite 100, Bala Cynwyd, Pa , Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-5:30 pm.! African American Museum in Philadelphia- 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pa , Thursday-Saturday, 10 am-5 pm; Sunday, noon-5 pm. The Blue Door Group will be hosting a race dialogue workshop. This workshop will bring together a racially diverse group to share experiences about race in the America. Philadelphia Orchestra executive vice president, Matthew Loden, attended the news conference to announce a continuing partnership with the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service and Girard College. The Orchestra will perform their 26 th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert at 1:30 pm in the Chapel as the concluding King Day of Service event at Girard College. Free tickets are available, starting today at noon, at The King Day of Service will host its 5 th annual Jobs and Opportunity Fair, presented by the Urban League of Philadelphia, I-Heart Media, and Comcast. Five hundred prospective employees will be choosing among some twenty local employers and AmeriCorps national service programs. Participants must pre-register at for one of two sessions: 9-10:30 am and 10:30-noon. As part of the Jobs & Opportunity Fair, the Urban League of Greater Philadelphia, Target, and Temple University, will be presenting soft skills workshops, including resume writing, interviewing skills, restoring credit, workplace etiquette, how to navigate a jobs fair and providing a path to employment for military veterans. For the seventh consecutive year, our historic Girard College campus will be the site of the nation's largest MLK Day of Service, said school president Clarence D. Armbrister. This year's theme of justice resonates with students, staff and families who acknowledge the struggle for equal educational opportunities that occurred here in the 1960 s. We are also eager to welcome Jim Kenney to his first MLK Day of Service as Mayor of Philadelphia. 2

3 More than fifty King Day of Service sponsors include: Girard College, Global Citizen, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Urban Affairs Coalition, Points of Light, Target, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., Comcast, Vanguard, Wells Fargo, Sunoco, League Collegiate Outfitters, City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Foundation, Drexel University, Dilworth Paxson, Pamela & Ajay Raju Foundation, Men s Wearhouse, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, Lomax Family Foundation, School District of Philadelphia, Temple University, Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Gateway Health Plan, The Children s Hospital of Philadelphia, Independence Blue Cross, Beverage Association of Philadelphia, Aramark, Cozen O Connor, Reading Terminal Market, Reading Terminal Merchants Association, Philadelphia Orchestra, Ready Willing and Able, PECO Energy, Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, Saul Ewing LLP, Philadelphia Media Network, Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, Mayor s Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service, i-heart Media, Urban League of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, Corporation for National and Community Service, High Point Café, Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, Spikes, PennSERVE: The Governor s Office of Citizen Service, Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters, Eastern State Penitentiary, City Year. Philadelphia Mayor and King Day of Service co-chair, Jim Kenney, thanked everyone for making the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service the country s largest and a national model for sustainable civic engagement. He presented the 18 th annual Harris Wofford Active Citizenship Award to Eastern State Penitentiary. "Eastern State Penitentiary is not just an architecturally important historical site in our city," said Mayor Kenney. "A critical part of their mission is also to explore the fairness of the criminal justice system and directly invite visitors of all backgrounds into the conversation. This includes fostering meaningful discussion about mass incarceration, prison reform, and the principle's of Dr. King. They challenge visitors to turn community concerns into citizen action and social justice." Previous award winners have been 900AM-WURD, Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, Loraine Ballard Morrill, Ken Salaam, the 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, Christine James Brown, the School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, National School and Community Corps (EducationWorks), Woodlynde School and Jack Neary. The Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters, the group of men and women who demonstrated in the 1960 s for an end to the discriminatory admissions policies at Girard College, will lead a workshop to share their experiences in the civil rights movement. Global Citizen, the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, Points of Light, the Urban Affairs Coalition, Sunoco, the Philadelphia Foundation and PECO Energy will 3

4 present a MLK365 Civic Engagement Expo that will provide information on the mission and work of dozens of local community organizations and opportunities to volunteer with these groups throughout the year. Johnson & Jonson Consumer Inc. will present a Health and Wellness Fair, that will feature a CPR training 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. Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church will present a Kid s Carnival for children ages of 5-12 that will include story reading about Dr. King, I Have A Dream mobile making, skits on Dr. King and civil rights, entertainment and more. A King Day of Service coloring and activity book will be available for children to learn about Dr. King s ideals of civil rights and civic responsibilities. The City Commissioner s office will help future voters try out the first responsibility of citizenship in a demonstration of voting booths used in real elections. The After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP) will present chess and scrabble mentors trainings. Thousands of students throughout the area are participating in the seventh 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 will receive a King Day of Service certificate. There will be projects at hundreds of schools in Philadelphia and throughout the region. Volunteers will beautify dozens of Philadelphia Parks and Recreation facilities. The Philadelphia Fire Department is organizing neighborhood outreach projects on fire safety through all sixty-three fire stations. Other King Day of Service volunteers will prepare food at homeless shelters and distribute meals to homebound seniors, organize health fairs and legal clinics, and perform plays about Dr. King and his principles of nonviolent social change and racial equality. The news conference included the unveiling of a dramatic King Day of Service mural painted by students from six-area schools. The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program led the annual project in which each school created a 5 x 6 canvas mural focusing on the Montgomery Bus Boycott-- December 1, 1955 to December 20,1956 a response to the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama, and a speech that Dr. King gave to the boycott s organizers, the Montgomery Improvement Association, at the Holt Street Baptist Church. After completing the murals in late December, the panels were attached to form a single, panoramic 36 x 5 mural. The mural will be on display January 18 at Girard College. Participating schools and the Mural Arts Program artists who worked with the students are (left to right): 1. Rosa International Middle School, Camden County, NJ. Parris Stancell 2. Girard College, Philadelphia Nathaniel Lee 3. Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy, Philadelphia Jasmine Alleger 4. The Woodlynde School, Chester County, Pa. James Burns 4

5 5. Greene Street Friends School, Philadelphia 6. Jack M Barrack Hebrew Academy, Montgomery County, Pa Lauren Donellan Jasmine Alleger The 2016 King Day of Service is co-chaired by Mayor Jim Kenney; former Pennsylvania US Senator Harris Wofford; Rev. Dr. Alyn E. Waller, senior pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church; Clarence Armbrister, president of Girard College; Dr. William Hite, superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia; Sharmain Matlock-Turner, president and chief executive officer of the Urban Affairs Coalition; David L. Cohen, executive vice president, Comcast Corporation; Bernard Newman, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia; Richard Ross, commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department; Derrick Sawyer, commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department; Patrick Eiding, president of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO; the Honorable Ida Chen, judge of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas; Ed Hazzouri, chairman of Hazzouri & Associates and Rev. Bonnie Camarda, president of the Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia. Updated information on service opportunities is available on Facebook-- facebook.com/globalcitizen365 and Twitter-- twitter.com/mlkdayofservice. The hashtag is #MLKDAY2016. Global Citizen organizes the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service and its year-round MLK365 program. Anyone or group interested in volunteering or hosting a service project should register at or call All organizations or groups planning projects are encouraged to register them at or Organizations interested in becoming sponsors of the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service and Global Citizen should contact Todd Bernstein at todd@globalcitizen365.org or # # # 5