Day of Service
Local students give back during Martin Luther King Day activities
Hundreds of students from the Perkiomen Valley School District spent their day off on Monday giving back to others.
While schools were closed on Martin Luther King Day, the students volunteered to honor the legacy of the civil rights leader by taking part in Perkiomen Valley’s sixth annual Day of Service.
Each year that the district organizes the event, it continues to grow. Over 300 students participated this year. They also incorporated more of Dr. King’s message by including activities that focused on civil rights, social justice and activism.
Each year, there have been more and more adult volunteers who want to assist with coordination of the event, so it has been able to continue to grow and expand, according to Jessica Lester, manager of school and community engagement.
The last two years, the district has added an educational component to the day to help explain who Dr. King was, and to have students understand some of his many contributions to civil rights and social justice.
“It is gratifying to see the Day of Service growing and the interest that our community has in serving others,” said Lester. “The volunteer slots we make available always fill up quickly, and this year was no exception.”
The elementary and middle school students worked at stations to complete the following: Recycling plastic bags to create blankets for Angels in Motion, a non-profit organization that provides assistance for homeless addicts in Philadelphia, creating super hero capes for patients at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, creating bags from Tshirts to be donated to the Daily Bread Food Pantry, making cards for residents at the Southeastern Veterans Center, putting together blessing bags for Laurel House (women’s shelter), and creating craft kits for patients of St. Chris-
topher’s Hospital.
Lester noted that some of the new activities this year, included a station for elementary school students where they learned about people like Dr. King, Susan B. Anthony, Malala Yousafszai
and other people who have made a difference in the world.
For middle school students, they watched a video interview with Derek Black, a former white nationalist who changed his views on race upon going to college. He is the subject of a book called “Rising Out of Hatred.”
The high school students
were out and about in the community, helping out at the Perkiomen Valley Library in Schwenksville, collecting and organizing food at the Daily Bread Food Pantry, helping out at Greenfield Senior Living, and creating seed balls at the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy. Some of them also stayed at the high school to
assist the younger students with the stations there.
“I am always amazed at how well the entire event comes together, and the credit really goes to the committee who spends months planning so that no detail is overlooked. We are fortunate to have a team of administrators, parent volunteers and community members who are
committed to providing meaningful experiences for students and families,” Lester said. “They work tremendously hard over the course of a year to put together projects that give students the opportunity to make a difference locally. They truly answer Dr. King’s “most persistent and urgent question” of “What are you doing for
others?”
The following businesses and organizations helped make the district’s Day of Service possible: the U.S. Department of Education, Kurtz Brothers, and Wegmans.
“We are grateful for these donors, who contributed funds or materials needed for our Day of Service,” said Lester.