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GFS’ MLK Day: A Morning of Service and Learning

On Monday, January 20, members of the GFS community, including students and their families, current and retired faculty and staff, alumni, and friends, gathered for the school’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. 

Despite a snowy start to the morning, there was a strong turnout for this beloved annual tradition, which combined interactive workshops, volunteering shifts, learning opportunities, and a joyful lunch together in community.

Freedom Smitty spoke in the Loeb Performing Arts Center

 

The day began with the keynote speaker, Kenneth Salaam aka Freedom Smitty, a Philadelphia-based Civil Rights activist. Salaam was a Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighter in the 1960s and protested for the desegregation of Girard College; after the success of the protest, he traveled the country, fighting for the rights of Black people alongside Civil Rights activists like Fannie Lou Hamer, Stokley Charmichael, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His visit to GFS was especially timely, as 2025 marks the 60th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

From the stage of the Taulane Auditorium in the Barbara & David Loeb Performing Arts Center, Salaam gave an inspiring speech to the audience centering on themes of interconnectedness and the search for one’s internal spark to serve the community. He posed a powerful question from Dr. King— “Life’s most persistent question is: What are you doing for others?”—which set a constructive tone for the service and learning workshops that followed his speech.

Some of the morning workshops created hands-on opportunities to give back. A few examples included: GFS faculty member Anna Burke led a group in apple pie-baking for the Whosoever Gospel Mission in the Meetinghouse Social Room; GFS faculty member Carla Childs ’66 hosted a sewing session in the Friends Free Library classroom that made hats and scarves for local missions; in the All School Commons, the GFS Community Engagement Club organized and compiled toiletry kits to be distributed at Holsey Temple, St. Luke’s Food Pantry, and the Germantown Community Fridge.

There were also learning workshops, like a discussion on health inequities led by GFS alum Dr. Dan Taylor ’82 from St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, and social justice stories in the Library.

Fun activities for smaller children, like a screening of the movie, “The Lorax,” valentine-making for patients at St. Jude’s Research Hospital for Children, and an art project with GFS art teacher Lili Sharpless ’04, were also on offer.

Throughout the day, volunteers took turns receiving donations for four different community drives: menstrual products for the SPOT Period hub; children’s shoes for Cradles to Crayons; snacks and toiletry kits for Face to Face; and new and gently used children's books for Reach Out and Read.

GFS’ MLK Day of Service concluded with lunch in the Dining Hall in the All School Commons. It provided a moment for the community to gather and break bread and close out the day on a lively, unified note.

Thanks to all who were able to join us at the 2025 MLK Day of Service. See here for more great photos from the day!