On Monday, July 13, the Phillies and MLB representatives dedicated an All-Star Legacy project at the Veterans Multi-service Center in Old City. Former Phillies players Kenny Lofton and Shane Victorino were among the former professional baseball players who attended the event, according to Action News 6abc.
MLB and Phillies Charities collaborated to renovate the fifth floor of the complex and officially opened the “Independence Floor” this weekend through a partnership called MLB Together.
Five months ago, the fifth floor of the building was nothing more than storage space. Now it contains therapeutic green space and veteran-created art. The area will now include resources to help veterans achieve economic freedom, whether through accessing benefits they may not realize they have or locating jobs.
Rehabilitation of the space also included repairs to the building’s elevator, which officials said was not operational for nearly 100 days per year, according to CBS News Philadelphia.
“If we didn’t have this, you’d see a lot of them [veterans] out there sleeping on the ground, which I was like that before,” said one veteran, Aaron Thompson, to CBS News Philadelphia. “But this helps the veterans to get started.”
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis highlighted the effort to support veterans and military families.
“We owe our veterans and military families a deep debt of gratitude that we’ll never truly be able to repay,” Davis said in a statement during the dedication ceremony.
According to event organizers, MLB Together is investing $5.5 million in local projects to uplift underserved communities. The Veterans Multi-Service Center renovation represents one of these projects.
Michael Vyskocil
Source link