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Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve.” This quote is from the late great, Dr. Martin Luther King,��Jr. ––��the leader of the American��C����������R������ٲ���Movement��—��and it aligns directly with ��ɫ��Ƶ’s mission.��Sadly, on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis. But now,��each year,��the third Monday in January is observed as “a day on, not a day off” for Martin Luther King Jr. Day – a federal holiday designated as a national service day to encourage Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.����

Each year on this day,����ɫ��Ƶ as an organization conducts service projects across��the country to help enhance the��communities we��live and��serve in.��In��Philadelphia, ��ɫ��Ƶ organizes the second-largest��service project in the city – bringing together��nearly 1,000��volunteers,��community partners, neighbors, and friends��to help beautify a school.������

“For ��ɫ��Ƶ Philadelphia, we see education as the most important social justice issue facing our city and our country,” says Executive Director Darryl��Bundrige. “We’re working hard to address the systemic inequities that affect so many of our students and our��annual��MLK Day of Service is a part of that effort.”��

For��last ��𲹰�’s��event,����ɫ��Ƶ Philly��painted murals and built benches for the school community at Kensington High School.��This year��we��did��double��the��service and made��double��the impact by serving in not just one,��but two schools – John Welsh Elementary School and John F. Hartranft School.������

Throughout the morning of King Day, volunteers��for ��ɫ��Ƶ’s MLK Day of Service��were greeted the same way��our students are each day, with����ɫ��Ƶ��power greeting.��At both schools,��AmeriCorps members chanted motivating and inspiring��messages to get��hundreds of volunteers��pumped up and excited to serve.����

The day kicked off with a welcome��breakfast from one of the event’s food and beverage sponsors,��, and coincided with an opening program to start the day’s festivities.����

As the��volunteers��transitioned into service, the��Welsh and Hartranft hallways��were filled with people��of all ages who came��together for one singular purpose, to honor Dr. �����Բ�’s legacy by serving to improve our communities.����

��By��noon, everyone had the opportunity to take a much-needed lunch break,��sponsored��by��.��While munching on��turkey wraps,��quinoa salad,��and��more, volunteers��took the time to��relax and reflect on the progress���ٳ���’d��made��so far��within each school.����

By 2��PM,��the day was��wrapped up��and the��hallways��in both John F. Hartranft��School and John Welsh��School were transformed. Over 300 murals were painted and the learning environments for over 800 students within the Philadelphia School District were changed.����ɫ��Ƶ gives a��special thanks to����for being the Platinum Sponsor for this����𲹰�’s��service��day and��extends gratitude to��each��volunteer who came out to help honor Dr. King.����

We can all be great because we all can serve. Let’s continue to honor�������Բ�’s��legacy not just on the third Monday in January,��but every day.����

For a video recap of ��ɫ��Ƶ Philadelphia’s MLK Day of Service 2020, visit us on��.��Also,��visit us online to����from��this ��𲹰�’s MLK Day.������

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