Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service 2025

Please head over to the All School Commons to get signed in. We look forward to seeing you!

Taulane Auditorium in the Barbara & David Loeb Performing Arts Center

We are honored to welcome Kenneth Salaam aka Freedom Smitty as the keynote speaker for this year’s MLK Day of Service at GFS. Freedom Smitty is a lifelong advocate for social justice, civil rights, and community empowerment. He was deeply moved by the human rights struggles of the 1960s, particularly the assassination of Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers. At just 16 years old, he left high school to join the movement, working alongside iconic figures like Cecil B. Moore and Fannie Lou Hamer. His activism included leading efforts to desegregate Girard College, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and fighting for voting rights with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Freedom Smitty’s impact extended across the country, from organizing rallies and food caravans to advocating for the rights of African Americans in politics and education. He was instrumental in the first National Black Power Conference and worked on campaigns to elect the first African American state senator in Pennsylvania. Read more about Freedom Smitty’s civil rights activism. 

This won’t be Freedom Smitty’s first visit to GFS! In the spring of 2024, he presented at GFS Lower School Assembly and shared his experiences as a Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighter. Andrea L’Tainen’s third-grade students were so inspired, that they successfully lobbied the city to rename a street at Girard College “Freedom Fighters Way” for the civil rights activists who led the push in the 1960s to desegregate its campus. Then, in October, the now-fourth graders were able to attend the street re-naming ceremony at Girard College! Read more about their work.    

Join us as we listen to Kenneth's powerful insights and commit to making a difference in honor of Dr. King's vision for a better world. No registration necessary. 

Drive up and drop off donations on the Meetinghouse front porch to support the following organizations: 

• the SPOT Period with menstrual pads
• Cradles to Crayons with children's gently used or new winter coats and sneakers of all sizes
• Face to Face with snack and toiletry kits
• Reach Out and Read with new or gently used books for children

Volunteer to collect donations on the Meetinghouse porch, make donations, and drive donations to local missions. 

Drop-off begins at 9:45 a.m., Taulane Auditorium in the Barbara & David Loeb Performing Arts Center

All are welcome to attend a moving screening of Universal Pictures' “The Lorax” in the Loeb Performing Arts Center. Caregivers, feel free to drop off your child if you are interested in attending a workshop during this time. Students from the Upper School Black Student Union will be supervising. No registration necessary.

• Pies for a Mission - (Meetinghouse Social Room): Join GFS faculty member Anna Burke to make apple pies for Whosoever Gospel Mission. 
• Warm Hearts - (Friends Free Library Classroom): Join GFS faculty member Carla Childs to make hats and scarves for local missions (participants must be 12 and over).
• Empty Bowls - (Woodshop-Morris Gym): Join GFS faculty member Rachel Fuld to make wooden bowls for the annual Empty Bowl Dinner, which raises funds to end food insecurity (participants must be 12 and over). 
• Social Justice Stories - (Friends Free Library): Join the GFS librarians for inspiring stories on social justice. 
• Sensory-Friendly Recipe - (All School Commons): Make a treat for the Germantown Community Fridge in a sensory-friendly environment. Neurodiversity will be celebrated in this space! 
• Health Inequities Discussion - (All School Commons): Join GFS alum Dr. Dan Taylor ’82 from St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children to discuss health inequities in our communities.
• Notes of Cheer - (All School Commons): Create notes of cheer for Cradles to Crayons.

participate

Grab a snack in the lobby of the All School Commons on the way to your next workshop!

• Assembling Toiletry Kits - (All School Commons) Join the Community Engagement Club to put together toiletry kits to be distributed at Holsey Temple, St. Luke’s Food Pantry, and the Germantown Community Fridge.

• Social Justice Stories - (Friends Free Library) Join the GFS Librarians in the Friends Free Library for stories on social justice.

• Art with Lili - (All School Commons) Join GFS Art Teacher Lili Sharpless to bring joy through an exploratory art project.

• Sandwich Making - (All School Commons Dining Hall) Join GFS P.E. Teacher Tom Myran to help make sandwiches for Whosoever Gospel Mission and the Germantown Community Fridge.

• MENA Cultural Activities - (All School Commons) Join the Upper School Middle Eastern and North African affinity group to explore henna, stories, and snacks from the region. 

• Valentines - (All School Commons) Create a valentine for a patient at St. Jude’s Research Hospital for Children.

participate

Meetinghouse

GFS Faculty member Anne Ross will lead with the query, "How will you continue to serve?"  

Please stay and join us for lunch in the Dining Hall after Worship Sharing.