MLK Day at Brandywine
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2022 MLK Recap
Penn State Brandywine’s Center for Social Impact partnered with Penn State Abington Student Engagement & Leadership and Penn State World Campus Student Affairs to present a week of programming designed to offer service, education and activism opportunities in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many of our events were open to the public as part of the 27th Annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, whose theme for 2022 was Combating Racism and Building Community.
2021 MLK Recap
For 2021, Penn State Brandywine’s Center for Social Impact teamed with Penn State Abington Student Engagement & Leadership to present two weeks of programming designed to offer service, education and activism opportunities in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many of our events were open to the public as part of the 26th Annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, whose theme for 2021 was Justice and the COVID-19 Health Crisis.
Featured Event
One of our most powerful MLK 2021 events was a panel discussion on COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on communities of color led by Vippy Yee, Rosenberg Director of the Penn State Brandywine Center for Social Impact. We explored health outcomes, education, civic participation, and economic opportunities with our featured panelists:
- Dr. Natasha Patterson, The College of New Jersey
- Dr. Marinda Harrell-Levy, Penn State Brandywine
- Rev. Zuline Wilkinson, Chester Eastside Ministries
- Nefetaria Yates, Chester Education Foundation
Penn State Student Voices
Student leaders from Penn State Abington and Penn State Brandywine recorded themselves for our kickoff MLK 2021 program. They shared their thoughts about the inauguration of the nation’s first female, bi-racial Vice President and the lessons that can be learned from Dr. King’s legacy as we address our systemic racism in our society.
2020 MLK Day Recap
The theme for the 2020 MLK Day of Service throughout the Greater Philadelphia region was the struggle for voting rights. Volunteer opportunities open to students, faculty, and staff took place on January 20th from 10am-12pm on PSU Brandywine’s campus. Volunteers helped lead service projects, crafts, and educational activities. This was a family-friendly event catering to individuals of all ages.
In particular, volunteers created Valentine’s Day cards for seniors at Fair Acres and Surrey Services for Seniors, and sorted and packaged donated items distributed to community non-profits. Volunteers also brought donations of toiletry items and socks that were donated to Backpacks 4 the Homeless and/or non-perishable food items that were donated to local food pantries. We also collected old towels or blankets donated to Providence Animal Shelter. Volunteers also helped participants learn how to use their personal electronic devices. There were also opportunities to celebrate Dr. King’s Legacy through other educational and artistic activities.
2019 MLK Day Recap
Our 2019 MLK Day, sponsored by the Center for Social Impact, featured over 200 Penn State Brandywine students, faculty, and staff as well as community members. The Center invited the community at large for a family-friendly event with service activities and a celebration of Dr. King’s life and legacy.
Activities included creating dream catchers based on participants’ dreams for society, organizing donated clothes and toiletries that were given to the Domestic Abuse Project of Delaware County and the McClure Elementary School, and crochet lessons with Brandywine’s head librarian Teresa Slobuski to create blankets that were later donated to the Providence Animal Center and newborn caps that were donated to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Students and community members also encouraged to write postcards to government officials about important issues such as supporting environmental causes, and participants were also asked to share their dreams for society on-camera. Students also wrote messages and thank-you notes to veterans that were distributed through Operation Gratitude.
“This is what Dr. Martin Luther King fought for — for us all to be in the same room, all different races.” – Chantel Hatton, Penn State Brandywine student.
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