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More than 375 Volunteers Joined the King Day of Service at GFS
More than 350 Germantown Friends School students, staff, and parents took part in the Delaware Valley’s 13th annual Martin Luther King Day of Service on Monday, January 21. Volunteers were divided between activities at GFS and in Germantown, and participated in activities at Germantown High School, the city’s “signature site” for the festivities. “We had our largest turnout ever on this wonderfully inspiring day,” said Kathy Paulmier, Director of Community Involvement.
Rev. Raymond Williams of Holsey Temple C.M.E. Church set the tone for the day with a describing his experiences participating in civil rights events of the 50s and 60s alongside Dr. King, and challenging today’s generation to continue in the struggle for justice and equality. “Remember that you belong to a higher power and you are challenged in the world today to do something good for someone else,” Rev. Williams told the audience.
Rev. Williams was the Dorothy and James Bristol speaker, named in memory of two long-standing members of the GFS community, Quakers who devoted their lives to the pursuit of peace and social justice.
Groups fanned out into the community where they visited residents at Inglis House wheelchair community, sang songs at Stapeley in Germantown retirement community, and made flower arrangements at Wyck for homebound neighbors. On the GFS campus, volunteers participated in projects and activities that included preparing food, making clothing, and reading stories about Dr. King.
A contingent of GFS volunteers spent the day at Germantown High School where the Germantown Poetry Festival Choir (composed of students from both GFS and Germantown High) performed creative renditions of classic protest poems as well as spoken word pieces inspired by Dr. King’s legacy. Also at Germantown High, GFS volunteers trained as reading coaches, collecting books for Philadelphia Reads, and sorted school supplies for Cradles to Crayons’ “Giving Factory.”
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