Dragons Support West Philly on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
By Nat Kaemmerer
On a frigid day in West Philadelphia, hundreds of Dragons donned their coats and ventured out to serve the community. Though Drexel University was closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, students from the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA), student-athletes and many more volunteered at 19 sites, including schools, churches and community centers for a Day of Service.
The Office of University & Community Partnerships (UCP) hosted a new kit-packing event this year that was open to all students. Volunteers came to the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships and packed 1,550 kits, including 450 appreciation bags for faculty and staff at five local schools with reusable water bottles, chocolates and cards; 100 bags for U.S. Dream Academy participants containing snacks, hygiene products, cards and small toys; and 1,000 “Blessings Bags” for Angels in Motion containing snacks.
More than 200 Dragons participated, coming from student groups and cohorts including Drexel fraternities and sororities, Lebow BRIDGE, resident assistants and their residents and more. In its first year, the kit-packing event was a success, said Rachel Viddy, UCP’s director of Partnerships and Programs, and the Lindy Center wants to make it a mainstay of Drexel’s other Martin Luther King, Jr. Day offerings.
More than 300 student-athletes from 15 of Drexel’s varsity teams participated in clean-ups and other volunteer events around West Philadelphia. Teams went to locations like the Miles Mack Recreation Center to create art for the Project Uplift art installation, Transfiguration Church to assist with a community breakfast, the Tiffany Fletcher Recreation Center to help with their MLK youth education program and more than a dozen other sites to help with cleaning and other activities. Drexel Athletics has participated in the Day of Service for four years.
“We are so thankful to members of the community who serve on our UCP Advisory Committee who helped engage and organize our local organizations and schools,” Viddy said. “Events like this remove the barriers to getting involved. When opportunities are organized and accessible, it makes it easier for students to step into the community, contribute meaningfully, and learn through real-world experiences. At UCP, we highly value our connection with Drexel student-athletes and USGA and remain committed to strengthening these partnerships as we continue to grow and sustain this event in the years ahead.”
Meanwhile, several students from Drexel’s Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA) continued the organization’s streak of partnering with the Dornsife Center for MLK events. More than a dozen students went to Moder Patshala, a Bangladeshi community center that teaches ESL classes, SAT prep and financial literacy, and helped get their new location ready for the first day by cleaning and organizing books and desks.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is far from the only opportunity for the Drexel community to get involved. Look to UCP, the Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships and the Lindy Center for Civic Engagement to find ways to both volunteer and work with members of the West Philadelphia community.