WHEREAS, As elected officials in our City’s governments, we share many of the concerns of those leaders and volunteers in the nonprofit sector, in social service agencies and in the philanthropic community about how we might best act or best invest our resources in order to make a recognizable and sustainable difference in the world; and
WHEREAS, So many disturbing and competing issues threaten the very fabric of our society, and a child today faces unprecedented challenges in order to succeed in life and in order to one day be prepared to help his or her children succeed in turn; and
WHEREAS, It is clear that we, as a community united, must adopt creative, affordable, preventive strategies designed to bring about long-term, successful outcomes and to break the pernicious, self-perpetuating cycles that undermine the inherent strengths of our City and of our nation; and
WHEREAS, Parenting education for youth, epitomized by Educating Children for Parenting, a national program headquartered in Philadelphia that reaches young people as early as kindergarten, as well as many other effective programs that address the needs of new, young parents and that help to instill values and skills that are both immediately applicable and life-long in nature; and
WHEREAS, Parenting, caring and social responsibility cannot wait until adulthood to be learned but instead are learned throughout life by the quality of nurturing we receive, observe and practice; and
WHEREAS, Too many children in today’s society live without opportunities to receive, observe and practice nurturing, because the dynamic of the American family has shifted so dramatically; now therefore
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we declare this May as Parenting Education Month, continuing a tradition that began in 1995, and encourage all citizens as well as all civic, health, education, religious, social and family leaders throughout our community to support education that will help prepare young people to fulfill their roles as caring, capable, responsible citizens and as the future nurturers of their own children.
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