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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FATTAH OPENS CAMPAIGN OFFICE, KICKS OFF NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN UP

PHILADELPHIA, PA – In the spirit of service and shared responsibility, Mayoral Candidate Chaka Fattah officially opened his campaign office with a clean up of the surrounding East Poplar neighborhood. Congressman Fattah, his staff, neighborhood volunteers, and friends from around the city gathered to get to work and make the surrounding community more livable.

“Philadelphia is a beautiful city and every block should reflect that,” said Congressman Fattah. “We want our children to have the opportunity to walk clean streets on their way to school. We want entrepreneurs to have the opportunity to run their businesses without trash blocking their store entrances. We don’t have to wait for an election to clean up our city. It’s time to take responsibility and get right to work.”

Today’s event is the first of several service-oriented events that the Fattah campaign will hold around the city. “I said early on that we wanted this campaign to be about action, not just words,” Fattah said. “This is one of many actions we will take to make a difference in this city right now.” The neighborhood cleanup is part of a larger effort by Chaka Fattah to bring together private citizens and organizations to transform Philadelphia. Pastor Martha Lang, of Mt. Tabor A.M.E. Church, located at 961 N. 7th St., near the campaign office, was supportive of the effort.

“It’s long overdue that Marshall Street and the surrounding area should be cleaned up,” Pastor Lang said. “We are tired of trash being dumped on the parking lot and on the street corners. We are tired of the drug traffic. We are tired of the surrounding area and we want it to be cleaned up and beautified. “We are grateful to Chaka Fattah and his committee for doing something about it,” Mrs. Lang said. “We need the support of the city officials and everybody to get involved.”

Several students from the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School, which is next door to Fattah’s campaign office, also participated in the neighborhood cleanup. Fattah said that’s what the neighborhood cleanup was all about. “We have to teach our children to be a part of the process now,” Fattah said. “That way we can write them into our city’s future instead of writing them off.”

There are many organizations in Philadelphia committed to service oriented events, chief among them Good Works PAC www.goodworks-pac.org.

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Last Updated: January 19, 2007