January 17 was a national holiday, but it was by no means a day of rest.

Temple faculty and students returned from break a day early, joining staff in kicking off the spring semester as they do each year: with a day of service honoring the legacy of Martin Luther
King Jr.

“The Temple community is once again showing its commitment to civic engagement,” said Kenneth Lawrence, senior vice president of government, community and public affairs. “This day of service is a reminder not only of Dr. King’s legacy, but also of the values that shape Temple’s mission.”

The day began at the Temple Performing Arts Center with the NAACP’s 34th Annual All Faith Service, which brought together religious leaders and dignitaries from throughout the region, including retiring Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and U.S. Rep. Robert Brady. The Philadelphia Boys Choir and Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble provided a musical backdrop for the event.

Betsy Manning / Temple University

Students from Temple's Department of Kinesiology offered tests in flexibility and vertical jumping for those attending the Greater Philadelphia Day of Service event at Girard College.

In welcoming remarks, Temple President Ann Weaver Hart noted the special significance of hosting the ceremony in the recently renovated Temple Performing Arts Center, the former Baptist Temple venue that spilled beyond capacity during a speech by King there in 1965.

“A profound testament to Dr. King’s influence more than 40 years after his death is that his words and his message still reverberate and inspire beyond these walls and into the streets,” said Hart. “He knew his life’s work would not end with the successful desegregation of public services, or a particular legislative victory, or even within his own lifetime. And it does not end with a day of service, reflection and prayer.”

Even as Hart enjoined those in attendance to commit to keeping the spirit of King’s work alive, members of the Temple community were fanning out across the city to turn that commitment into action through a range of projects planned and implemented by the Office of Community Relations.

For the third year in a row, the university partnered with Philadelphia non-profit organization Global Citizen as a sponsor and participant in the annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, which coordinates civic engagement and service projects around the city. At the city-wide observance at Girard College, Temple students and alumni helped to bridge the digital divide by upgrading computers that will be distributed to local families so that they can access online school and job resources.

Also at Girard, students from the Psychology Department, the College of Health Professions and Social Work, the School of Medicine and the Kornberg School of Dentistry presented information on a variety of health concerns, from men’s health to concussion awareness and dental hygiene. 

Closer to Main Campus, students and other Temple volunteers put their muscle into a variety of service projects. At Berean Presbyterian Church, members of the Temple chapter of the ACLU and sorority Alpha Sigma Rho helped beautify common areas used for fellowship and worship, polishing pews, dusting candles and sweeping out every crevice of the auditorium.

Ryan S. Brandenberg / Temple University

Temple students paint a room at Tree House Books.

Betsy Manning / Temple University

Students Raven Smith and Celeste Sumo accept donations from Nana Kwakye during a canned goods drive at the Fresh Grocer supermarket.

“Martin Luther King Day is a reminder that there are people who dedicated their whole lives to service,” said Samantha Wiggins, president of the Temple chapter of the ACLU. “It should also be a reminder to serve more than one day out of the year.”

For the managers of Tree House Books, a non-profit after-school meeting place for local children and frequent Temple partner, the day of service presented an opportunity to accomplish a year’s worth of cleaning and organizing in one day, with Temple volunteers taking the lead.

“Today is the day to deal with the mess and the stuff,” said Darcy Luetzow, executive director and a Temple alumna. “All of this would have taken weeks and weeks,” without the help of the volunteers, she said.

Students helped prepare the way for a new computer room that will be installed with the help of Temple Computer Services in the Susquehanna Avenue facility’s basement. The lab will provide vital access for the young people who rely on the non-profit as a place for reading and study.

Volunteers from Temple’s Ambler Campus also helped with several upkeep projects for the Norristown Police Athletic League, and undertook a range of social activities with residents of Silver Stream Center nursing home in Spring House. In addition, high school students in Temple’s Upward Bound program and members of Temple’s Residential Organization for Community Service program cleaned and moved furniture at the R.W. Brown Recreation Center. The university also hosted collections of food, books and blankets to benefit the less fortunate.

The Office of Community Relations, Human Resources and the Philadelphia Chapter of the NAACP invited 20 youths from the Institute for the Development of African American Youth to the Education and Community Entertainment Center for a screening of the documentary “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: A Historical Perspective,” followed by discussion of the importance of civic engagement.

Temple’s College of Education, Office of Sustainability and Black Alumni Alliance got off to an early start on MLK celebrations, hosting a clean-up project on Friday, Jan. 14 at the Paul L. Dunbar Elementary School. Supported by Sodexho and the Office of Facilities Management, volunteers spruced up classrooms using environmentally friendly products and painted a colorful mural on one of the school’s interior walls.

“This day brings together people who wouldn’t normally be together,” said Greg Bonaparte, a Temple employee and usher at Berean. “People are coming together — folks of all creeds and colors — for one common cause, and that is what Martin Luther King’s dream was.”

— Elizabeth DiPardo