Gun violence prevention to be key focus of MLK Day of Service
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- City leaders announced plans for the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service Wednesday, and a key focus will be gun violence prevention.
Mayor Kenney and other community leaders gathered at Girard College to discuss plans for the 28th annual event which will take place on Monday, Jan. 16, the federal observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Event organizers explained the importance of using the day of service to help address the growing issue of gun violence.
"This is not just a law enforcement problem, or a government problem, it is a societal tragedy that requires harnessing all the available resources with, as Dr. King used to say, the fierce urgency of now," said Todd Bernstein, founder of the region's King Day of Service.
One of the main projects planned for this year's King Day of Service involves a partnership with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to assemble gun safety locks.
The regional King Day of Service, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, is the largest in the nation.
Kenney also named Scott Charles the winner of the 25th annual Harris Wofford Active Citizenship Award. Charles is the trauma outreach manager at Temple University Hospital.
Last year, Dr. Ala Stanford of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium received the award.
You can get involved or submit a project at mlkdayofservice.org.