Parents, students and teachers are all invited to hear the ensemble play and to enjoy refreshments afterwards.

It’s almost time to begin to take action.  I’ve gather the information and the motivation, now all that is left is to put the plan into motion to make sure they do not lower the drinking age too 25.  After finding out a lot of information, I have come to the conclusion that the best way to reach the senate is through rallies and demonstrations.  I chose this because I’ve seen other forms of gaining attention in action, such as petitions, phone calls and emails, and I know from personal experience that using such methods in this situation would only delay the process.

The 1^st thing I plan to do is spread the word about my cause.  There can’t be a rally if people don’t know what they’re rallying for.  The second thing I need to do is draw the attention of the media.  Although some people may disagree with this at first, any publicity is good Publicity. The next thing I would do is search for a good time and date to have the rally and where.  There are many factors for this so I need to think carefully.  Because my father knows Mayor Nutter, I might be able to get him to support me or help me in some manner when doing this for real. As time marches on the  and the days for until this project insues, im growing more anxious for the day to arrive. 

Another approach worthy of consideration, nay, of being enacted is to create little, adorable, perhaps comical films to be put on youtube. This will spread awareness and hopefully interest in the matter. This will lead to a meeting with various relevant people solidifying the explanation of its importance, a meeting that will involve the lawmakers to whom I have been sending letters. (Most likely just one letter, perchance two if pushed to such limits.)

One other approach I am considering to spread the word is a Dear Stranger campaign. I place festively designed envelopes with letters inside telling of my cause throughout the city and allow curious individuals to peak inside. I am tossing the idea around.

So far we have not received any responses. Until we do, we will keep sending emails. We are starting small and hopefully we will soon enough be able to contact Arne Duncan, Bob Brady, Mayor Nutter, & Arlene Ackerman directly.

We are writing to discuss the current voting system on both a National and State level.  As young adults, we are new to the voting process, and concerned with voter turnout.  We believe that voter turnout is significantly tied to voting accessibility.  Analyzing the PA voting system, as well as contrasting it with that of others, we have developed a few suggestions for improvement.  Respectfully, we hope you will take them into due consideration.  

State Elections are held on the same day as National election, the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November.  Most people are not aware why voting is held on this day, but we are.  Tuesday was nationally standardized as (Vice-) Presidential election day in 1845 by law, and smaller elections followed suit.  It was designated as such for reasons that are not applicable today.  That Tuesday was meant to be convenient for citizens of the time, and chosen because it would not interfere with any religious observances and was the day before market day.  Due to the fact that it took so long to travel, most people were already in town.  

However, this method is completely outdated and no longer serves the practical function that it did in 1845.  Voter turnout is suffering.  When a system allows for more lenience, people will respond.  In the 2002 general election, Pennsylvania was ranked 40th in voter turnout, whereas Oregon ranked 6th.  Oregon utilizes mail-in voting, a much more flexible system.  

Recently, several states have either adopted or introduced voting reform.  One example in particular stood out to us.  San Francisco just passed a piece of legislation, “Proposition 1,” which would enable polls to open on the Saturday preceding. Those who found it inconvenient to vote during the day Tuesday, could instead vote on the weekend. New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg responded enthusiastically with his own support and own proposal. He wants to include early voting to make the system more flexible.  Pennsylvania could work in a likewise manner.  If Pennsylvania adopted a similar policy, voter turnout would improve greatly.

It would behove our State to have a voter system like this, and it would make voting for both us and the general public a much easier process.  Consider suggesting this plan, and PA will be grateful.  

Sincerely,

Sophia Moreno

&
Robert Glynn

Robbie and I are humorously wondering if we will receive an email back from a real person, or a generic “thank you concerned citizen.”  We’ll see.  Best of luck.

Email to the Organization:

Dear Pro life, 

I am doing a project in school about how/ and who can reduce the number of abortions each year, all over. There are some people with in the state of PA that would like to see this happen as well and can spread that news to higher powered authorities in the state and all over. Abortion is something that i see as a major crime, and should be treated as a crime. 

I have been researching about the effects that it has on specific people, and why. also i have been really looking into who is for and against it so i can know who will  help and who will not. There are a couple of senators that are really into not having the government support anything that has to do with abortion and taking a life. Even the President of the United States is for not having the govt. pay for any kind of abortion related activity within the US, and that can be a major changing factor for winning this battle sometime in the future. 

There is a lot to be thinking about in that there are a lot of factors that only one can seem capable of completing. There are things that I as a young adult can only complete in this challenge.  I need to know what i can be doing, and even if i can be doing anything to further help the organization of pro-life, to thence and further produce a positive effect on the people who are trying to make this problem get better in the future. 

-Graham Davis. 

I have already sent the email, and will be following up with them in the future. 

My partner and I have been working on our lobbying group that is in support of the Child Nutrition Act 2010. Through out the years, obesity has become a common problem in the United States and it was important that our government took a stand in reducing obesity. It was significant that they included schools in their plan because majority of the children spend most of their time in a educational setting while they also receive school lunches. Our lobbying group has followed the process since the renewal plan has been brought  on the table.  

The second recipe I made was rice crispy treats. This recipe was not very advanced but my brother needed them for one of his classes so I volunteered to help him make them. The funnest part was cooking with my brother and the bars turned out well to. One mistake I made in this recipe was turning the stove on too high and burning the marshmallows so next time I make this I will make sure not to have the temperature too high. I hope you enjoy my blog post!

Ingredients: There are only three ingredients that you need for this recipe

-Rice Krispies 

-Butter

-Marshmallows

Step 1: Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan

Step 2: Add pack of Marshmallows

Step 3: Stir marshmallows over medium heat and add half a box of rice krispies

Step 4: Mix the rice krispies with the melted marshmallows and pour into pan

Step 5: Let cool and enjoy!

I had a hard time researching my topic much further than I had before. I just couldn't find anything about the funding for drug and alcohol recovery programs. But with some help from Ms. Laufenberg, I found that there is a division of the Philadelphia city government called the Office of Addiction Services<http://www.dbhmrs.org/office-of-addiction-services>, a part of the Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services<http://www.dbhmrs.org/about-us/>. The Office of Addiction Services (OAS) does actually fund many programs dealing with drug and alcohol issues. 

This was a big deal for me. Now that I knew where the existing funding for these programs was coming from, I could start to find out whether it was enough. We found a list of mental health and substance abuse resources on the website for the Mayor's Office of Reintegration Services for Ex-Offenders<http://www.phila.gov/reentry/SA_MH.html>. I formulated some questions and went down the list, calling each relevant program. These are the questions I decided to ask the recovery programs after I explained who I was and why I was calling:

1. Have you been able to sustain your program using the funding that you are receiving from the government?

2. What are some of the other funding sources you have?

3. How would you benefit from more government funding? (Would you be able to provide more holistic treatment?)

4. Is there anyone you could recommend me to talk to who is also concerned about this funding?

Most of the numbers I called were actually out of service. However, I did end up speaking with a few people. I first spoke with someone from CATCH Inc. and from Interim House. Both of those conversations left me with a sense of frustration. When I asked what they could do with more funding, I heard ideas of community integration activities, education and job skills, safe housing, parenting help and better therapy and counseling. Holistic treatment seemed to be a luxury, to expensive to be attainable. 

It was nearing the end of the day when I received a call back from the director of social services at an organization called CORA<http://www.coraservices.com/>, where I had left a message with a secretary. CORA focuses on children and family, an area where addiction prevention is equally important as treatment. I spoke with this woman for a while and learned a lot about some of the needs of programs like CORA. While the government does provide funding, it is most definitely not enough. They only fund certain things, and many things that are crucial to holistic treatment are not included in the funding. After speaking with me for quite some time, she told me that she would like to invite me to a meeting about the topic the next day! She told me her name, Mary Doherty, and told me that she is a member of the advisory board of the Office of Addiction Services. I still can't believe how this worked out. I got permission from my teachers, made the confirmation call, and found myself at CORA services at 2pm thursday afternoon.

Of course I didn't know what to expect, but I never could've imagined the next few hours. It turns out that the meeting was a government committee of about six women who are in the process of writing a document to request increased funding for intervention services for Philadelphia's children and youth. They are working on exactly what I am interested in lobbying for. I listened to them discuss the issues and key people for about two hours, taking copious notes and soaking in the information. I was just amazed that I had the opportunity to witness firsthand exactly what I had tried so hard to understand. Then, as the meeting was coming to a close, I was surprised even further. 

Ms. Mary Doherty asked me if I could shed some light on the topic. (I still don't quite know how to address her, because all the women treated me with such respect that I felt like an equal.) All of a sudden, I found myself the center of attention, being asked question after question that I wasn't sure I had the answer to. They wanted to hear from me, a high school student, the member of the population they are trying so desperately to reach. They wanted to know why do teenagers go get help? Why don't they? Who do they feel safe talking to? Where to they feel safe asking for help? If they have gone through an addiction, what worked? What didn't? I didn't have a clue. But I told them, I could ask. So Ms. Doherty is going to email me a bunch of questions and I'll post a survey on SLA talk, or maybe even on facebook or something. Hopefully we'll get a lot of responses. :] As far as lobbying goes, I'm going to ask the committee specifically what direction I should take with it, who I should contact and what I should ask for. I've been invited back to the next meeting, which will be in January. I'm so excited for where this is going to go, and thankful for this amazing opportunity I've been given.

Over The Next few weeks I will be composing a letter addressing Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown concerning the issue of gaining more funding for recreation centers in Philadelphia. From the letter I hope to set up a meeting to collaborate in writing a bill to propose to Mayor Michael Nutter. The next step would be to go out to all the recreation centers in Philadelphia and ask for their support and with that ask them to participate in a short movie showing the importance of the recenter in the community.

I will post the video on all major video streaming websites and on the SLA blogs. After the video I will draft up some flyers to promote the cause, recruit my friends to pass them out, and try to get signatures to petition for more money recreation centers. Within the next few months I would like to submit an article to the Philadelphia Inquirer talking about the progress my team  has made and what we would like to accomplish in the future.   

To Communicate with people I am going directly for the representatives and senators who will be voting for or against this bill. To do this, I am preparing a standard email that I will be able to send out to representatives and senators. This method of communication is formal and professional, Which is good if I want the people I'm trying to influence take me seriously.

If I don't get a response by email, my alternative will be to contact them via phone, and state my opinion and try to encourage them to vote this bill down.

Not only do I plan to contacting the big guys, I'm taking it down a level. Im going to take it to everyday people, and encourage them to take action against this bill, with Informative resources and methods to take action with.

With this bill being out on Calender, I have been granted more time to extend my efforts and hopefully make change that will work towards my goal.

Lobbying Assignment Part IV

• Personal Letter
• Faxes to targeted decision maker
• Petition

• Send this letter to officials that support and oppose “next of kin” law.
• [Attempt to ] Contact the government in regards to this topic
• Use petition to strengthen my position

• To email the following people who have been notified about this issue and check in on any upcoming information
• To send out second copies of any information to confirm arrival.(if necessary)
• Call people who have contacted to check their status or see what they have to say

"Congressman Joe Sestak,

My classmate and I are working on lobbying the affordability and reliability of our local means of transportation, SETPA. We are both high school students that attend Science Leadership Academy in Central Philadelphia therefore we ride SEPTA quite often. Besides this, we are also traveling to sports games our friend’s houses so we’ve experienced almost every aspect of SEPTA whether bus, trolley, train or el. which requires us to rely heavily on the idea that SEPTA will consistently be a means by which we can travel effectively and at the same time not destroy our pockets. (we have very low budgets) Which means we have been practically taking SEPTA for some part of our lives.

In those few years of experience, several things have changed since then. November 2009, Septa protested because of their disagreement with their current budget. It wasn’t until March 2010 when they went on strike to fight for their compromise. Many Philadelphians were greatly impacted by this because many students and adults weren’t able to go to school or work. Now with Septa’s spiking budget and Philadelphia’s debt along with it, SEPTA have sold the rights to the name of Pattison Station to AT&T for 5 million dollars. This is a definite reflection of the amount of debt that they are in because they are willing to sell and sacrifice the dignity of their station name to a company for a resolution of about 3% of their debt.

These points are crucial to the success and endearment that the city of Philadelphia wants to allot this transportation association. Please we are asking if you can take this in consideration and give us feedback to improve the affordability and reliability of SEPTA.

Teila Allmond and Aimee Leong,

Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia."

"Congressman Joe Sestak,

My classmate and I are working on lobbying the affordability and reliability of our local means of transportation, SETPA. We are both high school students that attend Science Leadership Academy in Central Philadelphia therefore we ride SEPTA quite often. Besides this, we are also traveling to sports games our friend’s houses so we’ve experienced almost every aspect of SEPTA whether bus, trolley, train or el. which requires us to rely heavily on the idea that SEPTA will consistently be a means by which we can travel effectively and at the same time not destroy our pockets. (we have very low budgets) Which means we have been practically taking SEPTA for some part of our lives.

In those few years of experience, several things have changed since then. November 2009, Septa protested because of their disagreement with their current budget. It wasn’t until March 2010 when they went on strike to fight for their compromise. Many Philadelphians were greatly impacted by this because many students and adults weren’t able to go to school or work. Now with Septa’s spiking budget and Philadelphia’s debt along with it, SEPTA have sold the rights to the name of Pattison Station to AT&T for 5 million dollars. This is a definite reflection of the amount of debt that they are in because they are willing to sell and sacrifice the dignity of their station name to a company for a resolution of about 3% of their debt.

These points are crucial to the success and endearment that the city of Philadelphia wants to allot this transportation association. Please we are asking if you can take this in consideration and give us feedback to improve the affordability and reliability of SEPTA.

 Sincerely,

Aimee Leong & Teila Allmond"

Above is the email Teila and I sent to Congressman Joe Sestak.

In this e-mail we introduced ourselves and what we were lobbying. We wanted to reach out to Congressman Joe Sestak to try and ensure that awareness would some way spread. We would like to discuss the possible techniques to reduce the price and increase SEPTA's dependability. Of course, Teila and I will take charge of other actions but this is what we was able to. We have yet to hear a response. 

By: Teila Allmond

The goal is to develop awareness about the fact that SEPTA is not only reliable but doesn't live up to the expectations for the price that we pay. Recently prices have been raised but along with that, so has the pay of the workers. I would also like to discuss what possible techniques to reduce the price to ride SEPTA, with my representative. First, i sent an email to Joe Sestak explaining my point.

Congressman Joe Sestak,

            My classmate and I are working on lobbying the affordability and reliability of our local means of transportation, SETPA. We are both high school students that attend Science Leadership Academy in Central Philadelphia therefore we ride SEPTA quite often. Besides this, we are also traveling to sports games our friend’s houses so we’ve experienced almost every aspect of SEPTA whether bus, trolley, train or el. This requires us to rely heavily on the idea that SEPTA will work consistently and be a means by which we can travel effectively and at the same time not destroy our pockets since our budgets are quite low. It would be wonderful if you could give us feedback on this topic. Thank You Sir.

Teila Allmond and Aimee Leong,

Science Leadership Academy, Philadelphia.

We haven't received a response yet.

Obesity, Nutrition and Physical Activity In Philadelphia

Put simply, a lack of money prevents residents from purchasing food for a healthy diet resulting in a third of the city’s adult population to be overweight and 57-percent of Philly’s kids, reports the Daily News.

The Lobbying Project

I am lobbying against obesity caused by misinformed and uneducated citizens in the Pennsylvania area. My motivation for investing and influencing the public policy comes from the reported obesity weight in the United States which stands at 147 million people on average. It is a problem that has been viewed at over the  course of  50 years and continues to expand rather than ceased. My plan is to  begin small ( in Philadelphia) and  after improvement   has been made, I am going to broaden my lobbying project to the state of Pennsylvania for better accomplishment.

Goal:

1. To help create  sustained media campaigns to promote healthy food choices and increased physical activity in the Philadelphia area.
2. Change the affordability of fresh, healthy foods in communities
3. Host interventions to inform the public about some healthy choices that they could make to improve themselves

The Main Supporters

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

OAC ( Obesity Action Coalitio)

The Main Opponents

The Philadelphia media and supermarkets, stocks, and salesmen.

Pending Legislation Dealing With American Obesity?

Pending legislation's includes states receiving federal grants provided for in the bill would be required to annually track the Body Mass Index of all children ages 2 through 18 , then report the information to the state government. After, the state government would report the information to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for analysis.

Background Information

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, sixty percent of Pennsylvania adults are overweight.

Representatives

1. Giridhar Mallya, Director of Policy and Planning, Giridhar.Mallya@phila.gov, 215-686-5230
2. Nan Feyler, Chief of Staff, nan.feyler@phila.gov, 215-686-5206

Know their districts: Philadelphia

How has my legislator voted on my issue in the past?

They have created  Communities Putting Prevention to Work and Centers for Disease Control. A grant of 20 million has been in affect for Philadelphia  since February 26th 2010  for funding opportunity for health departments to implement sustainable

What do you and your representative have in common?

1. We both suggest that the persuasive media is implemented for positive correlation in the citizens health.
2. We are working on educating  the public about nutritional content and food choices
3. Eliminate some of the violence and  grant  the opportunity of of walking and biking in the city with safety, to create a easy exercise mechanism

Sources :

 http://www.phila.gov/recovery/HSS_PrevtoWork.html http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blogs/stimulus_tracker/2010/03/philadelphia_gets_healthy_slice_of_anti-obesity_funds.html

http://kdka.com/aom/Pennsylvania.Obesity.Rates.2.378994.html

http://www.votesmart.org/search.php?search=pennsylvania&x=0&y=0

Election day questions:

1. What motivated you to come out and vote?

My mother because she told me to come out and vote since I wasn’t doing anything with my sorry life .

2. What would you like to see changed in our political system?

Less charter schools .

3. Do you vote in every election? (How regularly do you vote?)

I just started voting November 2nd 2009.

4. Do you know why we vote on Tuesday?

Because people have to work on Monday.

5. Where have you encountered the highest amount of ad campaigning?

Print

6. What was the most memorable campaign ad that you have

encountered?

None

7. Are you always sure of who you are going to vote for when you walk

into the booth or are you still deliberating?

Im always sure.

8. What changes do you hope to see in Philadelphia as a result of this

election?

I don’t know

9. What impact do you feel that your vote will have on the election?

A small impact , Im pretty sure if I would have passed on  voting it wouldn’t have mattered.

]\[‘

10. Did you learn about voting in school? If yes, did that impact your

willingness to vote today?

No.

Direct action strategies

Letters to the editor, editorials and commentary.

To demonstrate high grass root powers , I believe that the most effective thing to do would be have each district of Pennsylvania paint murals of what they see everyday as a example of what could be improved.  To be even more effective each block can prepare a paper of reasons why there should be new motivation and education programs for healthier living.  Doing this will allow multiple people to not only learn the problem personally but to inspire them to help. The legislators will be able to target the obesity issue with a better well thought  out plan.

1 . Murals - The murals will represent the people, the  unhealthy environment, and the consumer price index that the people wish to change.  This creative piece will cover domination and make the strategy personal .

2. The letters-  The letters will explain the murals literally and include personal opinions and experiences from the people of Pennsylvania. This literal piece will help recruit the legislators and force multiplication.

3. Fund Public Classes - Specifically  classes for children . These classes will address the current generation because  it has been estimated the health care costs attributable to obesity are greater than any other health condition.

Dear Joe Manchin,

I am writing to you with regards of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” repeal. This is history piece of legislation is absolutely necessary to reverse this discriminatory law that has plagued our nation for nearly 18 years despite abundance of criticism and ridicule.

"Don't Ask Don't Tell weakens our national security, diminishes our military readiness, and violates the fundamental American principles of fairness, integrity, and equality."

In a survey of 400,000 service men, it was deemed that the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell would not affect their ability to perform their civic duty. 92% stated that their unit’s “ability to work together,” with a gay person was “very good, “good” or “neither good nor poor.” And 70% of Service members said they would be able to “work together to get the job done” with a gay service member in their immediate units.

The pentagon has also vowed that the implementation of this legislation would not hinder any current military efforts. Thus, there is no reason to vote against this bill that has deprived thousands of Americans from the freedom to serve their country.

You’re vote is essential to the passing of this blatantly homophobic law. I strongly urge your vote in the upcoming attempt to pass this law once it is taken out of the military spending bill and regarded as stand-alone legislation.

Sincerely,

Andre Serrano

P.S. You can learn more about this issue at my blog.

__________________________________________________________

It is absolutely essential to reverse the homophobic law that has deprived millions of American from serving their country in the military. To make the greatest impact, I decided my efforts would best be targeted towards the members of the senate who still oppose the law even after the pentagon’s report. Historically, senators have continuously voted along party lines, with the exception of Joe Manchin. Therefore, I deemed it appropriate to target Joe and the Republican Party.