This Story from the City of Brotherly Love Will Give You All the Feels

When Kevin Upshur’s mother passed away, she told him he had to do something for the Philadelphia community where they lived. She also left him a bar. He took her advice and her legacy and created the Strawberry Mansion Learning Center, which provides area kids with a safe haven and space to learn.

On average, fewer than half the kids in the local high school graduate and Kevin, who we first read about in The Huffington Post, wants to change that. He says the kids, “are yearning to learn something,” and provides the kids with a place to learn and hang out after school so they aren’t drawn to dangerous activity in what can be a rough neighborhood.

He says, “it’s not what’s in it for you, it’s what’s in it for your community….that’s a feeling you can’t buy.”

Upshur relies on donations to keep the center open, and upon learning about Strawberry Mansion Learning Center, Beneficial Bank donated $25,000 to keep the Center living and thriving. Watch his reaction in the video above when Rach surprised him with this gift.

Upshur says the money will help a lot of kids, but the truth, of course, is that it’s the kids at this center who may one day help a lot of us.