CSFP hosted its annual Application Launch event on Wednesday, September 20, at the National Constitution Center. The event drew a crowd of more than 850 parents, children, and school administrators to celebrate the opening of applications to CSFP’s random scholarship lottery. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney joined CSFP ED Ina Lipman, Board Chair Pat Burke, and parent Rosemary Crawford onstage to kick off our application season.
Mayor Kenney remarked that the CSFP students in attendance reminded him of his own school days: “As I look out and see you all here in uniforms, a lot like the one I used to wear, I think about how hard my parents must have worked to give me a great education and send me to parochial school.” He went on to acknowledge the effort made by parents working to keep their children in great schools, and the effort that Philadelphia needs to put into ensuring all students receive quality education. He concluded with the remark “The only way for our kids to be successful and free is through education.”
Current CSFP parent Rosemary Crawford attested to the commitment thousands of CSFP parents make by sending their children to private school. “As a single parent, I wasn’t sure I could afford private school, but I knew I had to try,” she stated, commenting that she was so happy to hear she had won a CSFP scholarship, she screamed when she received a call from us. Both of Rosemary’s daughters are doing well and have their sights set on college. Rosemary attributes their success to their hard work and the help of CSFP.
As in years past, CSFP offered a special “Opening Day” lottery for families who attended the event. Any application received at the event will be entered into a special lottery for 200 new scholarships. Any families not selected in this lottery will be automatically rolled into CSFP’s November and March lotteries. Altogether, CSFP will award 2,000 new, four-year scholarships for the 2018-19 School Year.
CSFP would like to thank our tremendous donors for making these scholarships possible. We also thank the National Constitution Center for hosting the event, Mayor Kenney, Rosemary, and the hundreds of parents and students who attended. Together, we are bringing quality education to even more Philadelphia children.
You can make a private education possible for #PhillyKids this year! Help us provide quality, safe educational opportunities for thousands of Philadelphia students through scholarships.
