The Penn Charter community gathered to honor Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 16 at a day of service and education on campus. Activities began with remarks from keynote speaker Kamal Marell OPC '06, executive director of The Monkey and the Elephant.
After hearing from Marell, who spoke on the importance of active engagement to positively impact the lives of others, students and their families continued their MLK Day of Service learning through sessions led by PC students, parents/caregivers and faculty. These included MLK Day-connected read-alouds; a lesson on indigenous storytelling; a lesson on the history of segregation in Philadelphia pools; and a discussion of the documentary “Kiss the Ground” led by Upper School Environmental Certificate students.
The on-campus service component of the day followed the educational sessions and included projects such as the sorting, cleaning and organizing of books for Tree House Books and shoes for Cradles for Crayons; making blankets for Turning Points; creating and organizing seed and produce packs for East Falls Community Fridges and Food Moxie; and younger students’ designing greeting cards for Atria Senior Living, among others. Off-site service projects also took place.
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About Kamal Marell OPC '06
Kamal L. Marell is a Philadelphia native with over a decade of professional experience in fields of child welfare, public education, youth advocacy and community partnership. In his previous role as program manager of a shelter for women and children, Kamal was responsible for the implementation, oversight, and budgeting of quality assurance for onsite, trauma informed programming provided to residents by community partners and stakeholders.
Marell earned a B.A. in sociology from Clemson University in 2010 and received his master’s in urban education from Temple University in 2018. Marell is passionate about leading and serving young adults in the community by providing them with access, education, experiences, and opportunities beyond their past and present circumstances.