Service Days

EducationWorks organizes special service projects on National Days of Service to give people of all ages and backgrounds the chance to spend a day serving side-by-side and giving back to their own neighborhood. Students become engaged in their communities- sometimes for the first time- and learn how they can directly impact the world around them as well as how their personal contributions add up on a larger scale. Adults, serving side-by-side with students, serve as role models.

• Painting murals in schools
• Cleaning up local parks
• Developing presentations and holding community events to spread messages of non-violence and service
• Assembling emergency kits for those in need
• Recording audio books for homeless shelters
• Sharing the stories and hopes of the community
• Organizing book and food drives
• Reading with children

National Days of Service include:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January)
  EducationWorks was one of the founding organizations for this annual event in Philadelphia, which is the nation’s largest celebration of Dr. King’s life and work. Students work alongside community members to make the holiday “a day on,” not “a day off,” participating in service projects that focus on Dr. King’s message of nonviolence in the pursuit of social justice. Adults share personal stories of the civil rights movement, students write and prepare performances on the teachings of Dr. King which are performed in the neighborhood and senior centers, murals are painted depicting events in Dr. King’s life paralleled with current events, and schools and playgrounds are cleaned and painted. Every year, EducationWorks is one of the largest contributors to The Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service.
• Global Youth Service Day (April)
  The largest service event in the world challenges young people to mobilize and take action by planning service projects that address local needs. Students in EducationWorks' programs join in the efforts of young people from around the world to complete projects that inspire, support and sustain the valuable work that’s done every day by the global youth service movement. For the past 3 years, many of EW’s Philadelphia students have participated in Legs Against Arms, an anti-gun violence event sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility, by walking and running, sponsoring booths on healthy eating and lifestyles, and performing music, reading poetry and exhibiting art on anti-violence.
• United Way’s Day of Caring - Philly Cares
  EducationWorks participates regularly in United Way’s Day of Caring, which brings together corporations and nonprofit agencies to make a difference in the community they share. Past Day of Caring partners include IKON Office Solutions, and Vanguard, an investment management company. Company employees and their families spend the day cleaning, painting, and doing yard work to keep EducationWorks sites organized and beautiful for the students in our programs.

Can you give just one day? Get involved with a National Day of Service at EducationWorks!