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Dorothy D. Allen

“She always had a beautiful and outgoing attitude,”

- Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson

“She was just a woman that didn’t want to see youth left behind, youth not having that opportunity,”

- Her Granddaughter, Tiphanie White.

“She just had a good heart and would help anybody”

- Phyllis Randall

Her Story

Born in 1923, Dorothy Allen grew up in Point Breeze and graduated from Southwark High School, now known as South Philadelphia High School. She received vocational training and became an expert seamstress, starting a garment business with her future husband, Robert Allen, in 1948. She trained and hired community members, a pattern she would continue throughout her life. She later went on to work at the Quartermaster Depot, where she spent more than two decades making military service uniforms.

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For decades, the community leader Dorothy Allen worked to improve the quality of life in Point Breeze. She founded a community center, Barrett Educational Center, served as a block captain for nearly 50 years — planting trees to beautify the neighborhood — and provided free meals to local children. Dorothy, who died in 2019 at the age of 96, was especially committed to fighting child hunger and creating enrichment and job opportunities for young people.

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The seed for Dorothy’s community activism was planted one summer afternoon in the mid-1970s, when her grandson came home in tears, saying he wasn’t able to receive a free lunch. Allen started researching the city’s free lunch program, and figuring out how to ensure that all children in her community had access to food. She received a grant from the city to run a food program in South Philadelphia, and her work grew from there. 

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Allen founded the Barrett Educational Center to provide everything from free meals, theater and sports programs to tutoring services. She made sure the center also offered programs for older adults, including grant writing classes. Many young people got their first jobs through the center. 

Dorothy D. Allen Community Center

1300 S 24th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146

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