January 17, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Mt. Airy man instrumental in inspiring King service day
by Kristin Pazulski

Todd Bernstein is the man behind King Day of Service activities in Philadelphia (Photo by Kristin Pazulski)

On Monday, Jan. 21, nationwide hundreds of thousands of volunteers will hit the streets to carry out neighborhood service projects in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of civil rights and community advocacy.

While the man behind the national holiday has inspired projects across the country, it was a Mt. Airy native who first helped to inspire the service learning projects that dominate what would otherwise be just another day off from school and work.

Todd Bernstein was working with Harris Wofford, the future U.S. Senator, in the office of Governor Robert Casey in 1988, two years after Martin Luther King day was declared a federal holiday.  Bernstein, founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service, said that, at the time, he and Wofford were sitting around contemplating the new holiday, distressed over America’s inclination to honor these holidays by simply taking the day off.

“The irony was that so many people fought for the recognition of King as a federal holiday, yet for millions it was just another day off with little or no recognition of King,” Bernstein said last week, sitting in his home-away-from-home, the High Point Café in Mt. Airy. “It seemed, in many ways, like a wasted opportunity.”

The two threw around ideas of how properly to honor King, but it would be another six years before they took action.

In 1994, Wofford was a U.S. Senator and Bernstein his state office director. That year, Wofford co-authored legislation with John Lewis, a senator from Georgia, to establish the King Holiday and Service Act.

The act “called on Americans to transform the holiday into a day of serving others,” Bernstein said.

Less than two years after the act was signed into law, in the aftermath of the huge blizzard that blanketed Philadelphia under more than two feet of snow, the first King Day of Service took place. The day brought about 3,000 volunteers to the streets in Greater Philadelphia to participate in more than 50 projects.

“We were mobilizing the community to identify the pressing challenges faced by the community and then responding to it through a process of civic engagement,” Bernstein said.

As it turned out, because of the blizzard snow removal was one of the most pressing issues in the community. 

Daylong projects like the snow removals and park cleanups dominated the first few King Days of Service, said Bernstein.

But in its 13th year, the King Day of Service has more long-term goals. Many of the efforts involve inspiring and training volunteers for yearlong projects, and steer away from the quick, daylong fixer uppers, Bernstein said.

“The difference between 13 years ago and now is that if we were at a school doing a project, it would be painting the school,” he said, “but now, it’s about engaging involvement yearlong.”

Germantown High School is this year’s home base. Thousands of the 60,000-some volunteers participating in Philadelphia’s Day of Service on Monday were trained there this year, and many of the day’s signature projects will take place at the school.

For example, the school will be hosting a number of mentor training programs. Those who learn mentoring skills eventually will be paired with a student to mentor them through the year and beyond.

Big Brothers Big Sisters will be one of the mentoring programs at the school, as well as Concerned Black Men, which pairs older African American males with younger students.

“The importance of mentoring is providing young people with a sense of self esteem and the belief that there are opportunities through education to be successful citizens,” Bernstein said.

Philadelphia Reads will be reading with young children, aiming to inspire them to continue reading through the year.

Of course there are projects focused on just the day of service, but Bernstein said he hopes that even these inspire more long-term commitments from the volunteers. He said he hopes the projects make the volunteers realize that service projects are something they should continue through the rest of the year.

“They should serve as a catalyst for the motivation to continue to do what they are doing,” he said. “It’s an internal gut check. In order to continue, you have to feel it in your gut.”

Bernstein said that “gut check” was something King recognized could occur in anyone.

“He said that you don’t need a Ph.D. to serve, just need a ‘soul full of grace and a heart full of love,’” he said, referring to King’s quote. “You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

For young people, he said, the projects sometimes ignite a life of service learning.

“Serving others can be a transformation for young people,” he added.

Bernstein, who lives in Mt. Airy and has been a resident of Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy his entire life, was introduced to serving as a child, and, obviously, as operator of the Philadelphia Day of Service and a consultant on 25 other cities’ service days, was inspired to continue service throughout his life.

In 1972, as a 10th grader at Abington Friends School, he and his class traveled to Wilkes Barre, Pa., after Hurricane Agnes hit the area and caused disastrous flooding.

“It was a seminal moment for me,” Bernstein said, adding that he was working with people he did not know from all different places. “We turned a tragedy into an active response.”

He said he truly believes that all people have it in them to serve. “They just need to be asked,” he said.

And the King Day of Service aims to do that.

Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 215-248-8819 or jenn@chestnuthilllocal.com.