A HUGE Victory for Kids!
The whole thing hinged upon a majority vote by City Council and in the end the soda tax passed by a decisive 13 votes to four. For a grueling, contentious months-long campaign, it’s a stunning accomplishment by Philadelphia’s new Mayor, Council President Darrell Clarke and his council colleagues.
The debate over ‘means’ was at times raucous, but what ensured victory for Philly kids and families was unanimous agreement over the necessity and urgency of pre-k. Although the soda industry vehemently opposed the tax, even they were compelled to back pre-k.
You made that possible.
Thousands of advocates like you called, wrote, Tweeted messages to City Council and your voices were heard loud and clear.
Like you, for PCCY passage of the soda tax was a ‘must win’. With this victory under our belt, we are focused on our next battle: Fair funding of our schools.
Help us achieve this victory by donating to the advocacy work you depend on us to do.
Chip in $10 and help us raise $25,000 in the next 10 days to get our schools the services they need for our students.
We need pre-k for ALL kids in PA! Help us as we convince lawmakers in Harrisburg. Contact Shirlee at 215-563-5848 x34. Or, click here send an email right now!
PCCY helped define the language and imagery of the soda tax fight on social media with #rkidsrworthit.
Click here to browse through the thousands of tweet of the campaign!
“But the biggest winners today are the generations of children whose destinies will be changed because they’ll be attending quality pre-k, grow up playing in revamped public spaces or live in a neighborhood with a community school.” Donna Cooper, Executive Director, PCCY READ OUR STATEMENT
“I call it musical mentoring. This is so vital for them to attach their current learning to a picture that they have in their mind of where they’re headed.” Ezechial Thurman, Houston school music teacher who helped lead the PCCY-funded Picasso Project that resulted in a CD of original music.