This Monday, Jan. 20, we are celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Day. To honor his legacy, special events and volunteer opportunities have been scheduled in West Philadelphia by local groups and organizations.

A street renaming and awards ceremony in honor of Dr. King will take place on Monday from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at 40th and Lancaster, the exact place where he delivered a historic speech on August 3, 1965. More than 10,000 people came to listen to Dr. King speak on that day. To commemorate this event, a historical marker and a mural were unveiled at the intersection of 40th Street and Lancaster and Haverford Avenues in 2010, but this Monday, community members are invited to celebrate the renaming of the triangle to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Triangle. The ceremony will begin at 2:30 p.m. and feature the following speakers:

• Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District)
• Jim Brown, community leader who led the effort to rename the street
• Joe Walker, community leader who has been leading the effort to memorialize this site since 2009
• Community leaders, faith leaders, neighbors

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For many years, local community organization, Cedar Park Neighbors, in collaboration with area churches and other nonprofit organizations, has been preparing and distributing food baskets for neighbors in need during the holiday season. This holiday season is no exception. As always, to make this great initiative a success, CPN is holding their annual Holiday Basket Drive. Suggested donation this year is $45, which will help feed two families.

Donations are accepted online at: https://donorbox.org/holiday-basket. Payments can also be sent to: Cedar Park Neighbors Holiday Baskets, Calvary Community Center, 4740 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143.

CPN members and volunteers will be packing and distributing the baskets on Saturday, Dec. 21, from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. at Renewal Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of 47th and Cedar Avenue. Please feel free to contact the event organizer, Michelle Lewis, at mlewis1071@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer or are interested in donating bulk items. Also, feel free to ask any questions by email.

Photo by Albert Yee for Fairmount Park Conservancy

Over 100 Philadelphia parks need help preparing for the winter season and will host clean-up service events during Love Your Park Fall Weekend (November 8-10). Love Your Park is a program of Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and Fairmount Park Conservancy, in partnership with the Park Friends Network, made up of 140 volunteer groups who steward their neighborhood parks.

Love Your Park Fall Weekend is dedicated to service and celebration in Philadelphia’s parks. Every fall, thousands of volunteers mobilize over the course of one weekend to care for their neighborhood green spaces by planting trees, raking leaves, cleaning up litter, and more to help prepare parks for the winter.

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Here are some Martin Luther King Day of Service events and volunteer opportunities in West and Southwest Philadelphia happening on Monday, Jan. 15. If you’re hosting an event please feel free to add it in the comments section. More events and volunteer opportunities can be found on the MLK Day of Service website.

The events in the list below include peace and solidarity walks, cleanups, art projects, food and clothing giveaway, and more.

The list has been compiled by the Office of Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District).

Click to enlarge.

The historical Woodlands cemetery, located at 40th and Woodland, has announced its 2024 Grave Gardener season and is currently accepting applications for this popular annual program. The non-profit organization is currently recruiting volunteers who will take care of Victorian-era “cradle” graves originally designed to be planters. As usual, the season kicks off with a series of winter workshops where participants can learn about historical contexts and helpful how-to’s.

Each volunteer will be assigned to a cradle grave to tend to throughout the growing season (March to November). The application period closes on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

For more information and to apply, click here.

The Woodlands has also announced a Volunteer Site Work Day, which will be held on Saturday, Jan. 27, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Volunteers are needed to help remove ivy and other invasive plants from trees, collect fallen sticks and branches, pick up trash along Woodland Avenue, and do other outdoor site clean-up chores. To learn more and to sign up, go here.

The Friends of Malcolm X Park, a community organization that advocates for this historic West Philly park and organizes events and activities, is seeking volunteers who can dedicate some of their spare time to the park. It can be just a few hours or a more significant commitment – any help will be appreciated. Neighbors who are seeking to be more active in the community and interested in volunteering with the group are asked to fill out an online engagement survey.

The link to the survey is here. Volunteers of all ages, skills and abilities are welcome.

Established in 1993, Friends of Malcolm X Park has been involved in many community events, such as the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival, Thursday Night Jazz in the Park, Love Your Park Day and other park cleanups, and more.

To learn more about the organization, visit their website, https://www.friendsofmalcolmxpark.org or follow them on Instagram.