FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Tannis Williamson
773-256-2718
773-678-6744
twilliamson@rainbowpush.org
PUSH EXCEL HOLDS ANNUAL
BACK TO SCHOOL RALLY
CHICAGO – (AUG. 29, 2005) — On this past Saturday, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and PUSH for Excellence (PUSH Excel) hosted the PUSH Excel Annual Back to School Rally, during which the organization distributed over 600 book bags full of school supplies to kindergarten to 12th grade students from across the State of Illinois.
"Receiving these supplies today is a great start in preparing for the upcoming school year," stated Whitney Smith, PUSH Excel Youth Council President and 11th grader at Young Women’s Leadership Charter School.
The purpose of this event is to help parents, students, teachers, and members of the community gear up for the upcoming school year and to make the pursuit of academic excellence a priority.
PUSH Excel also uses the Back to School rally as a platform to encourage parents and students to adopt its 5-point Parent-Student Pledge. The 5-point pledge persuades parents to take their child to school, meet their child’s teachers and exchange phone numbers, review their homework and test scores, pick up their report cards each term, and turn off the television three hours each night.
"We want all students to study for three hours each night, to strive for moral and academic excellence, and to abstain from consuming drugs or carrying guns. We want to encourage them to break the code of silence to stop the violence, and to live/enjoy life and give peace a chance. This goes beyond the classroom we are responsible for enabling our kids to become mature, responsible, educated, productive, proactive members of society," stated Reverend Jackson.
As apart of the organization’s ongoing commitment to include members of the community in encouraging students to achieve academic excellence, Reverend Jackson presented Patricia Davis, mother of PUSH Excel Scholarship Recipient Ryan Williams, with a laptop computer that was generously donated to the organization by NBC5 Chicago Anchor, Marion Brooks especially for Ryan’s use while attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
"The Back to School Rally is PUSH Excel’s opportunity to affirm our, as well as the community’s commitment to our young people in their quest for academic achievement," stated Michelle Chambers, PUSH Excel Program Coordinator.
Along with the Reverend Jackson’s annual Back to School inspirational message, students received motivating messages from Chicago Public Schools CEO, Arne Duncan, WCGI radio personality, Naki, and 13-year old Spoken Word artist/author, Eric I. Keys. In addition, students were entertained by the performances by Percy Julian High School’s marching band, as well as the youth choirs of Salem Baptist Church and Greater St. John Baptist Church Youth Choirs.
PUSH Excel was established in 1975 and seeks to encourage students and their parents to strive toward academic excellence. PUSH Excel seeks to make education and the development of America’s youth a shared community function: connecting family, educational institutions, local clergy, and corporations to become a critical force that pursues academic excellence. The organization is headquartered at 930 E. 50th St. in Chicago. For more information about the PUSH Excel, please visit the organization’s website, www.pushexcel.org, or telephone (773) 373-3366.
