It’s that time of year again, the time to join with neighbors to work together to clean and green the community for the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. And, this year, to be celebrated on Jan. 20, 2025, the city will celebrate the 30th annual Greater Philadelphia MLK Jr. Day of Service event. Organizers said that the regional King Day of Service, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, is the oldest and largest King Day of Service in the nation. Also, organizers noted that 2025 also marks the 60th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. On Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025, officials gathered at Girard College in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood, to announce details on this year’s 30th anniversary and note that the college, for the 16th year, would serve as the region’s signature project site. “This year’s King federal holiday also marks the inauguration of a new president,” noted Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen and founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service in a statement on the day. “It is perhaps more critical now than ever to reaffirm our commitment to Dr. King’s values, principles, and mission, to dedicate ourselves to his legacy—pursuing the cause of justice, fairness, democracy and freedom.” Projects at Girard College on the 30th Annual MLK Jr. Day of Service Lead sponsor Independence Blue Cross will have volunteers sorting and packing toiletry kits, which will be distributed to people in-need living in underserved communities, in partnership with the Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood and Community Engagement new mini-City Halls. At the conclusion of the King Day of Service project, the kits will be transported by the City of Philadelphia to the MONCE mini-City Hall at the Church of Christian Compassion / Community of Compassion Inc., 6150 Cedar Ave. West Philadelphia, 19143, for distribution on dates and times to be determined. Mural Arts Philadelphia leading Printmaking by the People: Citywide Voices on 2026 – a hands-on workshop focusing on the Declaration of Independence, printmaking, and the power of posters. The project includes a presentation and discussion led by artists and facilitators in which participants will be asked to reflect on what the rights referenced in the Declaration of Independence—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—mean to them today, and what they might add if they were writing a new Declaration today. Participants will design and print posters that reinterpret key ideas in the Declaration. Organizers said that the posters will be used to help inspire a mural in Center City and an exhibition at the Parkway Central Library in 2026, and they will be digitized and made accessible to the public in an online archive. The Committee of Seventy leading volunteers assembling Civic Engagement Starter Kits: Understanding How Philly Works, a hands-on project designed to provide accessible, actionable tools for understanding and navigating Philadelphia’s government. These kits are part of a broader effort to expand the reach of the How Philly Works brand as a trusted resource for civic education. A Rally for Peace & Justice will focus on the history of Girard College and civil rights activism, with music and cultural presentations, organized by the Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters, the organization which led efforts to desegregate Girard College in the 1960’s. A Health & Wellness Fair, led by the Black Doctors Consortium, will include professionals providing information and guidance on community health services, including behavioral health. Other projects on Girard College’s campus on Jan. 20, 2025 Global Citizen, in partnership with the Read by 4th Campaign, leading a Reading Captains training, an initiative which protects every child’s right to read in Philadelphia by connecting community volunteers with a citywide movement for early literacy. The Book Trust partnering with Global Citizen to donate 3,000 books to children in Philadelphia. Book Trust and Reading Captains offering opportunities for children to choose and own books that are meaningful to them. Volunteers assembling Literacy Kits that will include the donated books and reading resources to be distributed to families throughout the area. The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation partnering with National Public Radio’s StoryCorps program and their Brightness in Black project, with interviews amplifying the idea that everyone has an important story to tell and that everyone’s story matters– helping us believe in each other by illuminating the humanity and possibility in us all — one story at a time. These recordings are being collected in the U.S. Library of Congress. Several organizations, including M&T Bank, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Rho Theta Omega Chapter, The Voice of ECE, Elements of the Community, and Urban Affairs Coalition presenting projects that provide resources for economic justice and opportunity. The Philadelphia Fire Department will be on had to lead CPR training. Educational activities promoting children’s literacy including reading stories about Dr. King and the civil rights movement, coloring books, watching Dr. King’s speeches, and distributing free books. Voter education and registration. The 13th annual Civic Engagement Expo proving an opportunity to learn more about the mission and work of local community organizations, and ongoing opportunities to volunteer. Projects throughout the Philadelphia region On Jan. 22, 2025, students with PA Cyber will decorate birthday and superhero boxes and filling them with items to make children in foster care feel special. They will be working from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at PA Cyber’s office located at 825 Baltimore Pike, Springfield. Volunteers with the Share Food Program will welcome almost 200 volunteers to its North Philadelphia warehouse, where the community will pack boxes of nutritious, free food for distribution to seniors in need. Volunteers will be working on Jan. 20, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Share Food Program’s volunteer center, located at 3111 W. Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia. The 12th Annual MLK Teen Peace and Social Justice Summit will take place on the Sunday of the weekend honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Jan. 19, 2025 at William Tennent High School, 333 Centennial Road in Warminster. The program serves 9th through 12th graders (and mature 7th and 8th graders), but is open to the community with sessions for educators, parents, and all members of the community. The Animal Welfare Association will host a Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 from noon to 4 p.m. Volunteers will have the opportunity to create toys for shelter pets, learn about animal welfare, and discover meaningful ways to support animals in their community. The event will be held at the Animal Welfare Association, located at 509 Centennial Blvd, in Voorhees, NJ. This story is a list of just some of the events being held throughout the region for the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. It will be updated continually ahead of Jan. 20, 2025. Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.