A national record 110,000 volunteers make it a day on not a day off in the 18th Annual Greater Phila. Martin Luther King Day of Service
ABOVE PHOTO: The Birds-eye view of the MLK Day celebration at Girard College.
(Photo by Thaddeus Govan Jr.)
A national record 110,000 people of all ages and backgrounds throughout the Philadelphia region volunteered today in some 1,500 service projects in the 188h annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, according to Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen and founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service. The 2013 Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service is again the largest King Day event in the nation and takes place on the 50th anniversary year of Dr. King’s 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Girard College president Clarence D. Armbrister welcomed everyone to the school. “All of us at Girard College are proud to serve as the host site for the Greater Philadelphia MLK Day of Service for the fourth consecutive year,” Armbrister said. “We can think of no better way to honor the legacy of Dr. King, who played a significant role in the desegregation of Girard College. His contribution, as well as the contributions of others, will be noted this fall when we celebrate the 45th anniversary of the admission of students of color to Girard College.”
PHOTO: Kenneth Salam was one of the original 30 protesters who stood with Cecil B. Moore in 1965 during the battle to desegregate Girard College.
(Photo by Thaddeus Govan Jr.)
Highlighting the 150 King Day of Service projects, workshops and presentations at Girard College was KEYSPOTS: Powered by Freedom Rings Partnership, a citywide initiative to bring Internet access, training and technology to all Philadelphia communities. The signature site project highlighted one of the KEYSPOTS’ programs, The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) Free Netbook Program, with the distribution of netbook computers, modems and digital literacy resources to more than 150 pre-qualified PHA residents.
Beyond the citywide access and training programs, KEYSPOT has a special program for PHA to teach up to 5,000 PHA residents basic computer skills. Upon completion of the special program, PHA residents are eligible for a free netbook computer, presented on King Day. All Philadelphia residents served by KEYSPOT may also purchase subsidized high-speed Internet access through Mobile Citizen and Wilco Electronic Systems, also partners of the initiative.
Volunteers worked with PHA recipients registering their computers and going through a series of exercises to learn how to become better users of technology. The PHA residents learned how to search for jobs and complete employment applications online.
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