GOVERNOR DEVAL PATRICK TO JOIN THE NELSON MANDELA DAY CELEBRATION

On July 18th, Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday, a coalition of community organizations, elected officials, and activists host a celebration of Mandela’s life at the Old South Church, 645 Boylston Street, Copley Square, Boston, beginning at 5:30 p.m.  The celebration joins special guest speakers Governor Deval Patrick and a US South African Embassy representative along with a reading of Mandela’s inspirational words by local youth and musical tributes.  The event is free and open to the public.

Designated in 2009 by the United Nations, Nelson Mandela Day is an international day of service dedicated to continuing the South African leader’s legacy of working to improve the lives of others.  Annually, on July 18, citizens are encouraged to join others around the world in donating 67 minutes to a favorite charity or local community – one-minute for each year of Nelson Mandela’s activism; starting as a political leader and human rights attorney, then a prisoner of conscience, and later an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.

For more information, contact South Africa Partners at (617) 443-1072.  To find a list of suggested volunteer opportunities in Boston and surrounding areas, visit: www.sapartners.org/volunteer.