White House Tour Sponsored by Swarthmore College's Chester Community Partners

On April 2, 2016 a group of fifty young people and adult chaperones from Chester City and Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, traveled to Washington DC for a tour of the White House.  The purpose of this trip was to provide children and adults an opportunity for personal enrichment at a historic moment in American history.  President Barack Obama campaigned in Chester in his first presidential run on October 28, 2008.

In the words of Kathryn Redd, director of the After-School Program at Chester Eastside, Inc., one of the sponsoring organizations, “This is a wonderful history lesson for these children, one they will never forget. As the first black President of the United States, President Obama is someone they can emulate.” 

During this trip, Chester's young people and guests enjoyed a tour of the White House, a visit to the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, and the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. This trip was sponsored by Chester Eastside Inc. and God’s House of Glory and Haven of Peace, two of Chester’s faith-based community organizations and community partners with Swarthmore College.  Logistical support was provided by the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility at Swarthmore College.  Professor Mark Wallace was one of the trip's chaperones of children his students tutor as part of his course, "Religion and Ecology."