More than 200 of our students and staff members joined 65,000 volunteers throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware on Monday, Jan. 19, 2009 for the 14th Annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. YouthBuild students and staff organized and served as project leaders for a number of service projects around Philadelphia.

Green Playground Construction Project
At Greater Philadelphia’s signature MLK Day service site at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, YouthBuild students and staff led 150 community volunteers in the construction of a green playground structure and picnic tables, using recycled materials and lumber from sustainable woodlands. The playground structure and tables will be donated to Winchester Recreation Center in the spring. This project was sponsored by Hope worldwide.

YouthBuild students put the finishing touches on a picnic table

The materials used for the playground structure were created from recycled, consumer household plastics. The wood was acquired from a sustainable woodland system. Read more about the materials used in the green playground project.

Highlights for the day included a visit by Senator Robert P. Casey, who stopped by for a few minutes to help drill in a few screws for the playground structure.
Read more from the Philadelphia Inquirer Online Desk and KYW Newsradio.

Vanguard Mentoring Project

Also at the Liacouras Center, nine professionals from Vanguard kicked off a long-term mentoring project with YouthBuild (with an emphasis on post-secondary preparation) by facilitating a skills training day. Vanguard volunteers facilitated four student workshops, including resume writing, mock interviews, basic presentation skills, and a group discussion about how education and career training are related to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream of equality for all citizens.

Volunteers from Vanguard give students advice on college, career training, and personal development.

RHD Ridge Avenue Shelter Painting Project
YouthBuild joined volunteers from fellow programs currently housed in the Philadelphia OIC Office Building (in North Philadelphia) to clean and paint 20,000 square feet of the RHD Ridge Avenue Shelter (1360 Ridge Ave.). Collaborative Partners included Youth Empowerment Services (YES), North Philadelphia E3 Center, Philadelphia OIC, MOCS – Mayor’s Office of Community Services and National Student Partnerships.

Weatherizing Homes for the Elderly
In the West Oak Lane area of Philadelphia, students and staff provided weatherization services for roughly fifteen low-income, elderly homeowners. The volunteer service included applying plastic sheeting to windows in order to seal in warm air and reduce the influx of cold air from outside. This project was coordinated in conjunction with PennSERVE: The Governor’s Office of Citizen Service.

Mural Painting
YouthBuild staff and volunteers designed and supervised the painting of a mural to commemorate MLK Day 2009. The mural was completed by a group of happy youth volunteers.

Volunteers painting the commemorative mural