Contact: Brenda Alvarez   (202) 822-7823

July 1, 2007

NEA Members Give Back to Philadelphia

NEA volunteers organize weekend community service projects

PHILADELPHIA -- During the NEA Annual Meeting, dozens of members rolled up their sleeves this past weekend to volunteer in a series of community service projects that addressed hunger issues and green space preservation.

“When NEA’s Annual Meeting comes to a town, we just don’t want to conduct business without considering the communities we’re in,” said NEA President Reg Weaver. “Giving back to Philadelphia is our way of saying thank you for being a great host.”

Beginning on Friday, June 29, NEA volunteers helped sort and pack food for Philabundance, an organization dedicated to fighting hunger, ending malnutrition and reducing food waste in the Delaware Valley.  The organization has provided more than 60 million meals since 1984.

NEA volunteers continued their good work the next day by partnering with Greater Philadelphia Cares, an organization that empowers individuals to serve and improve communities across the city, and with Friends of the Wissahickon, which is dedicated to preserving the natural beauty and wilderness of the Wissahickon Valley.

A team of 30 NEA volunteers, representing 10 states across the country, restored and beautified a section of Fairmont Park on Saturday, June 30. They snipped dead branches, spread woodchips, cut woody stems and pulled knotweed. Land preservation helps to stimulate public interest in green space and escalates recreational activity.

Volunteer activities culminated on Sunday evening with City Team Ministries, a nonprofit organization serving the poor and homeless. NEA volunteers helped to serve dinner to the homeless men and women of Chester, Pa.

The NEA Community Service Caucus organized the volunteer efforts in Philadelphia.

“Community service offers a chance to show gratitude for all the things people may take for granted,” said Karen Seeling McInnis, caucus chair.  “I appreciate everyone who took time out to help others.  It is truly rewarding to know that the time we put into these projects will result in a needy family getting a meal or enjoying a stroll in the park.  We hope even more people will participate next year.”

The volunteers are delegates to the NEA convention and represent NEA affiliates in Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Nevada, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators
and students preparing to become teachers.