Insight Pt. 2: Ice Skating for Peace, Carole Boston Weatherford Honored, Fountain Fund Philadelphia, The Power of Jury Duty

🎙️ Alim Howell | Ice Skating for Peace
Alim Howell is an activist and advocate with the Race for Peace Committee, dedicated to fostering safer communities and stronger relationships between youth and law enforcement. He joins us to preview the 6th annual Ice Skating for Peace event—happening Friday, July 11th from 4:15 to 6:15 PM at the Skatium in Havertown. Sponsored by the Haverford Township Police Department, this free event features open skating, food, and drinks—all in the spirit of peace and unity.
🔗 raceforpeace.org
📲 Instagram, Facebook & X: @RFPCSocialMedia

📚 Carole Boston Weatherford | Children’s Literature Legacy Award
Carole Boston Weatherford is an acclaimed poet and author of over 50 children’s books, many centered on African American history and culture. Her work has earned numerous honors, including the 2022 Coretta Scott King Author Award for Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre and the 2024 Honor for How Do You Spell Unfair? This weekend, she’ll be honored with the Children’s Literature Legacy Award at the ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, as part of the Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet—featuring speakers like Grace Lin and George Takei.
🌐 Learn more at: https://info.libraryjournal.com/ala-2025

💸 Michael Butler | Fountain Fund Philadelphia
We’re spotlighting second chances and economic justice with Michael Butler, Director of the Fountain Fund Philadelphia. Backed by the GreenLight Fund, the organization has just surpassed a $1 million milestone in zero-interest loans—directly supporting Philadelphians impacted by incarceration. These funds empower individuals to pursue housing, education, transportation, and entrepreneurship, creating real pathways to stability and freedom.
🌐 fountainfund.org
📲 Facebook & Instagram: @TheFountainFundPhiladelphia | X: @TFFPhilly

  ⚖️ Lauren Cristella & Patrick Martin | The Power of Jury Duty
We’re joined by Lauren Cristella, President & CEO of the Committee of Seventy, and Patrick Martin, Philadelphia Jury Commissioner, to discuss the often-overlooked civic responsibility of jury service. From protecting constitutional rights to ensuring diverse representation in the courtroom, their mission is to strengthen our democracy through informed and engaged jurors.
 Learn how you can get involved and why your service matters.
🌐 Learn more: https://seventy.org/jury-service-initiative

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning. You're listening to Insight, a show about empowering
our community. I'm Lorraine Ballatmorrow, we'll talk about the crucial
role of jury duty in our democracy and an effort
to ensure that jury pools reflect the diversity of our city.
We'll also tell you about the Fountain Fund, which provides
a financial lifeline for the formerly incarcerated. We celebrate a

(00:21):
legendary children's literature author who will be honored at the
American Library Association Conference. But first today, we're joined by
Alim Howell, an activist with the Race for Peace Committee.
Alim is passionate about creating safer communities and building bridges
between youth and law enforcement. He's here to tell us
about the upcoming sixth ice Skating for Peace event happening Friday,

(00:45):
July eleventh, from four fifteen to six point fifteen at
the Stadium and Havertown sponsored by the Havertown Township Police Department.
This free community event includes admission, food and drinks, all
in the name of peace and unity. And for those
who may not be familiar, what is the Race for
Peace Committee and what inspired its creation?

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Hell Lorraine, and thanks for having me today. The Race
for Peace Committee is a nonprofit organization that was founded
in twenty sixteen, so we've been almost doing this for
ten years now, and it's an organization that's formed to
have better community outreach and positive community involvement with law
enforcement and police officers. And we do this by having

(01:27):
events in the community and that's throughout the Greater Philadelphia area.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Okay, great, can you tell us about this Ice Skating
for Peace event, how it got started and what the
goal is.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
The Ice Skating for Peace event is just something that
we've been basically made up from the top of our minds,
and we thought of a lot of events like basketball
meet and greet events, and the ice skating event in
the closest thing that we can do with Haverford Township
Police Department because we're very local in the community throughout
Delaware County and Montgomery County. So we just lout of

(02:00):
an event that would be good for everyone, and we
thought ice skating would be a good idea with a
police department because they have the stadium right there and
have it for township for that collaboration.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
So why is it important to have law enforcement involved
in community centered events like this one?

Speaker 2 (02:15):
It's good because when you have community outreach event with
law enforcement, sometimes maybe the crime rapes will go down.
And that's basically the end goal for the Race for
Peace committee is for crime rates to go down, the
black and brown community members have a better relationship with
police and not being always a stereotype.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Youth gun violence continues to be a concern. How does
Race for Peace address this issue through its programs and outreach.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
We address the youth gun violence issue by having sum
events when we can, and also we address that issue
by partnering with our additional organization called Urban Navigation, and
that's an organization that has basketball events at the Darby
Recreation Center in Delaware County and a lot of youth
come out to that event. Some law enforcement officers play

(03:01):
basketball at that event with the youth, and that's how
we try to combat the gun violence and lower the
gun violence and try to stop it and not have
it happen at all.

Speaker 1 (03:11):
What kind of impact have you seen from previous Ice
Skating for Piece events.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
The first few Ice Skating for Peace events, there is
a big attendance, and then one of the years we
partnered with the Philadelphia Flyers sports team, so that was
really good and basically it's a bunch of community members
from the Have for township coming out to ice skate
with law enforcement.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
And how can listeners get involved with the Race for
Peace with support the work you're doing.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
As usual, we have our Facebook page. It's OURFPC social
media on Facebook, or they can type Race for Peace
on the search bar and then our website is Raceforpeace
dot org. But everything about our events and about our
organization is mainly on the Facebook page for visuals.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Okay, well, thank you so much for joining us. Selim
Howell activists and advocate with the Race for Peace Committee,
passionate about creating a safer community and building bridges between
youth and law enforcement. The upcoming sixth ice skating for
Piece of End happens on Friday, July eleventh, from four
fifteen to six point fifteen pm at the Stadium in Havertown.

(04:13):
Want to thank you so much for joining us today.

Speaker 2 (04:15):
Thank you, Lauren.

Speaker 3 (04:34):
Man.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Carol Boston Weatherford is a celebrated American poet and author
of over fifty children's books, many of which explore African
American history through rich poetry and prose and receiving, including,
among many others, the twenty twenty two Coretta Scott King
Author Award for Unspeakable the Tulsa Race Massacre, and the
twenty twenty four Coretta Scott King Author Honor for how

(04:59):
Do You Spell? On Fair? This weekend, she's being honored
by at the ALA American Library Association Annual Conference in Philadelphia,
where she receives the Children's Legacy Literacy the Children's Literacy
Legacy Award during the Newberry Caldecott Legacy Banquet, which is
pretty amazing, So great to see you once again your work,

(05:21):
Carol Blend's History and Poetry. How do you choose which
historical events or figures to translate into verse for young readers?

Speaker 4 (05:29):
Well, first and foremost, I'm seeking to educate myself about
some of the gaps in American history. I write what
I'm interested in, and then I look at the marketplace
to see what's already out there, and when I can,
I'd like to be the first person to write about
the subject or the age group that I'm targeting. My
focus as an author is to mind the past for
family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles. Thus, the subject

(05:54):
matter that I choose fits within.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
That realm unspeakable, and how do you spell unfair confront
difficult chapters in American history? How do you balance presenting
harsh truths with preserving a sense of hope and empowerment
for your audience.

Speaker 4 (06:07):
Truth is necessary for reconciliation and healing. I also feel
that justice is as necessary as joy. I do not
think that children are too tender for tough topics. Of course,
I do approach my topics in an age appropriate way
for children, So I might not include all the graphic
details of some of the more shameful chapters of our

(06:27):
nation's past. But I trust that children know injustice when
they see it, and will know how to interrogate injustice.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
At this year's ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, you will
receive the Children's Literature Legacy Award. What does this recognition
mean to you personally and professionally?

Speaker 4 (06:44):
Definitely a pinnacle of my career. Personally, it means that
the mission that I set out to accomplish when I
began writing children's books in nineteen ninety five has been fulfilled,
at least partially.

Speaker 5 (06:58):
I'm not done yet.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
It means that I think my work will reach a
wider audience and will continue to find a place in
homes and libraries in the United States and around the globe.

Speaker 1 (07:13):
The conference theme is strength in Community. Librarians and authors
are focusing on equity and storytelling in libraries. How can
libraries partner with authors to bring marginalized voices into the
spotlight and what role do you hope your books will
play well.

Speaker 4 (07:29):
Libraries really introduced me to diverse books, not when I
was a child because not many existed, but when I
was a young mother taking my children to library story times.
So I think libraries have an important role to play
in providing books that offer windows and doors for young

(07:50):
people where they can and mirrors where they can see
themselves and books and see others in books and recognize
our humanity and cultivate empathy. Libraries can definitely do that,
and I think simply by promoting literacy, libraries are strengthening
our communities.

Speaker 1 (08:10):
Well, I want to thank you so much and congratulations
on this award. Carol Boston Weatherford celebrated American poet, author
of over fifty children's books, many of which explore the
African American story the history through rich poetry and prose.
She will be honored this weekend at the ALA American

(08:30):
Library Association Annual Conference in Philadelphia, where she received the
Children's Literature Legacy Award. I want to thank you so
much for joining us here today and thank you for
all the wonderful books that you've put out into the world.

Speaker 6 (08:43):
You're so welcome. Thank you, Lorraine.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
We're spotlighting a powerful story of second chances in economic justice.
The Fountain Fund, a green light fund Philadelphia investment, has
just surpassed a one million dollar milestone. Money recycled directly
into the Philadelphia economy through zero interest loans for individuals
impacted by incarceration. These funds helped cover housing, education, transportation,

(09:23):
and entrepreneurship, creating pathways to stability and freedom. Joining us
right now is Michael Butler, the Director Site director of
the Fountain Fund Philadelphia, to share more about this incredible
achievement and why equitable re entry support matters more than ever.
Thank you so much for joining us here today, and
I wonder if we could just start with the big news.

(09:46):
Tell us about the one million dollar milestone and what
it means to the Philadelphia re entry community.

Speaker 7 (09:51):
We did hit We're a little over now, which is great,
but we did hit the one million dollar milestone just
getting a client partartners are people that's returning back from
being incarcerated, getting them access to capital for a multitude
of things. It's so important because we landed here in
twenty twenty three and it's not even the end of

(10:14):
twenty twenty five and we've hit this mark. So I'm
very excited, Teams excited, and I hope Philadelphia is excited
as well.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
Michael, I wonder if you could tell us a little
bit about yourself and what brought you to the Fountain Fuend.

Speaker 7 (10:30):
So a little bit about myself. I am a previously
incarcerated individual. I was incarcerated at the age of eighteen
and was released twenty twenty. Basically, being incarcerated had a
mindset change. I just wanted to give back. I didn't
know how I was going to do that, but I

(10:50):
started within myself first things that I would need to
be successful when I reintegrated back into society. And so
it's basically my life's work helping people re enter back
into society so that they don't go back into those
same traps that they once did. And so I've been
doing this work since twenty twenty. First, I just was

(11:12):
an outreach person for the Institute for Community Justice. Then
I became a re entry manager for the Center for
Family Services, and now I'm the director of the Fountain Fund.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
Fantastic. Why is access to capital so critical for people
coming home from incarceration.

Speaker 7 (11:30):
It's so critical because there's so many things that you
have to have capital to survive with, starting even from
people occurring fines and fees that they have to pay back.
If you can't do that, then I could land you
back into prison. Things like access to capital for transportation,
you have to get the work, you have to see

(11:51):
your family, you have to start to you know, being
able to be independent, starting small businesses. Why is that
important Because like it's hard to get a job when
you're coming home. I mean, we could just call a
spade a spade. It's not not enough jobs, They're not
well paying jobs, and so like, you know, we just
want to give people the opportunity and the power to

(12:14):
maybe start something on their own. And so I think
it's essential so we don't give up hope and think
that you know, we're going to be stuck in a
box and we're not going to be able to elevate
or advance in anything. So I feel like that's why
it's so important. It restores dignity, it gives us independence,

(12:34):
and it just helps us to be able to dream
and look further than what our current circumstances are.

Speaker 1 (12:40):
How do your zero interest loans work and what are
some of the most common uses for the funds.

Speaker 8 (12:47):
It's a three percent interest rate. It's not a zero.
I wish it was zero, but pretty good. Yeah, you
might as well see zero.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
Right.

Speaker 8 (12:57):
How it works is first and fours.

Speaker 7 (13:00):
To qualify, you have to have been impacted by mass
incarceration in some form or fashion. And then what happens
is you come in and then we bring.

Speaker 8 (13:11):
You in have a conversation with you. Also, one of the.

Speaker 7 (13:14):
Biggest things is you have to have a means to
pay this loan back. And since we're not traditional like
traditional banking, we look at all means of income that
are legal means of income, whether that's being paid under
the table, whether that's an SSI, whether that's a traditional job.
And so once we figure out that you have the

(13:36):
ability to pay the loan back, then we start to
look at what you need in regards to the things
that you need in your life. And we start to
assess that and then we try to connect you to
whatever it is the thing you need. What happens is
we go through the underwriting process like traditional banking, but
the differences is that we don't look at the things

(13:58):
that qualify you in traditional bank. We look at where
you want to go and where you are right now
and how we're going to get you there, And so
that process is you know, it's a simple process, I think.
But the things that we usually see a lot of
our loans handling in Philadelphia because of workforce is transportation.

(14:20):
People have to go get jobs, and also transportation gets
people and dependents, and so we see a heavy stream
of people coming for transportation needs. But we've been picking
up on business loans as well.

Speaker 1 (14:33):
Can you share a success story that illustrates the impact
this support has on someone's re entry journey.

Speaker 7 (14:41):
We have a guy named Tyrone Edwards. He was in
a halfway house for about a year and a half
and he just couldn't save up money to get housing
because you know, first month, last month security deposit is
like extremely hot, and he couldn't do it, and so
he was living his life really still feeling incarceryting because
in a halfway house, you have to come in a

(15:03):
certain time, you have to you know, ask to believe
in all types of things. And so when he found
out about the Fountain Fund, it really helped him like
sore in other ways of his life. And so he
came to us and he got a housing loan and
we helped him with the first month the last month
in security deposit. And once he got that independence, you

(15:26):
can just see the change in his face. He's gotten
a better job because of it, he's more social because
of it, and now he wants to help others as well.
And I think that that's a success story because it's
nothing like having home security.

Speaker 8 (15:41):
And then also it's nothing like.

Speaker 7 (15:43):
Someone helping you and asking nothing from you in return,
but how we can help you get to what you
need to get to.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
So that's beautiful. How can our listeners support the work
of the Fountain Fund or get.

Speaker 7 (15:54):
Involved, Well, you could get involved by telling your people
about the Fountain fun, inviting us to outreach events, even
becoming a peer to peer mentor in some cases, if
you have education and business where if you know your
way around housing, or even just like regular everyday things
that people need to connect to.

Speaker 8 (16:16):
You can reach out to us and give your services.

Speaker 7 (16:19):
Other ways would be just donating and funding what we
do and just spreading a word about the Fountain Fund.
You can you can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Fountain
Fund Philadelphia. You could go to our email www dot
Fountain Fund dot org and yeah, man, just scream us
out in the street and yeah, that's how you can

(16:41):
help us out.

Speaker 1 (16:42):
Wonderful. Thank you so much for joining us. Michael Butler,
who's director of the Fountain Fund Philadelphia. The Fountain Fund
is making a powerful impact on re entry and economic
justice by providing low interest loans to individuals formally incarcerated,
helping to restore dignity, rebuild credit, and open the door
to new opportunities. We want to thank you so much

(17:02):
for joining us in congratulations on hitting the one million
dollar mark. Have recycled into the Philadelphia economy. We appreciate you,
and certainly this is part of the solution for increase
in the peace in the city of Philadelphia. So thank
you so much, Thank you.

Speaker 8 (17:18):
Appreciate you.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
Today we're joined by two passionate civic leaders Lauren Christella,
President and CEO of the Committee of seventy and Patrick Martin,
Philadelphia Jury Commissioner. We're here to talk about the crucial
role of jury duty in our democracy, from the courtroom
to the community. Serving on a jury as one of
the most direct way citizens can participate in justice today.

(17:51):
Lauren and Patrick are here to raise awareness, increase engagement,
and ensure that jury pulls reflect the diversity of our city.
Starting with you, Lauren, let's start with a big picture.
Why is jury duty so important and essential to a
healthy democracy and how does it connect to the mission
of the Committee of seventy.

Speaker 9 (18:09):
Jury service is so important because everyone deserves a fair trial.
It's one of the underpinnings of our entire system of government,
right that it's one of the things that our founding
fathers fought for. Right that everyone has a right to
a fair trial a jury of their peers.

Speaker 3 (18:26):
Right.

Speaker 9 (18:26):
And I think people take it for granted, or they think,
you know, let me just go before an expert a judge,
But no, you know, twelve jurors, these people from your
community that have a variety of different experiences that come
from your community, bring their experience and their perspectives to
your case, to that situation. It matters, and it actually

(18:48):
impacts your chance at a fair trial, and when that
doesn't happen, when there's not a diverse story pool, justice
is at risk. So we think it's important for people
to come. We know that there are lots of barriers
to serving on a jury, but it is so important
for people to step up and to have their voice
heard and to perform this importan civic duty.

Speaker 1 (19:08):
Patrick is Philadelphia's jury commissioner. What are some common misconceptions
that people have about jury duty and how are you
working to change that narrative.

Speaker 3 (19:18):
We have a lot of people come to us that
you know, it disrupts our day, and we admit that.

Speaker 5 (19:23):
We understand that it does.

Speaker 3 (19:25):
But like Lauren said, this is the foundation of what
our system has been built upon, and we need people
from all walks of life to come together and sit
down and judge the facts of the case and listen
to each other and doing so and to hear everybody
out and come to hopefully a unanic's decision one way

(19:48):
or the other. But the biggest issue has to do
with their time. We're all busy, and I do understand that,
but we also do need you because it's important. Like
Laurence said earlier, everyone needs to get a fair trial,
and we can't just have the same people coming in
over and over again. The big misconception is that their
opinion doesn't matter. I can speak from personal experience. I've

(20:10):
actually I've had dry duty. I didn't let my co
jewers know who I was or what I did for
a living. But to see that side of it was
very enlightening and I was kind of proud of my
end to see all of these citizens come together. If
you sat in that deliberating room as one of those
twelve jewors, you would have seen so many different people.

(20:32):
We found out different neighborhoods where people were from, but
we all came together and we came to a decision,
which was beautiful, you know, And I'm very passionate about
what I do, so I say things.

Speaker 5 (20:42):
Like it is beautiful, but it is. It is.

Speaker 3 (20:44):
It's great to see that the person ended up getting
a fair trial because of what we had to say.
There aren't too many things that citizens are asked to do.
This is one of the big ones. I don't think
people realize just how important and it is.

Speaker 1 (21:01):
Lauren, you touched on this earlier, but we know that
many people face barriers to serving. What steps are being
taken to make jury service more accessible, especially for working families,
students are low income residents.

Speaker 9 (21:13):
Yeah, absolutely, So part of the campaign that the Committee
of seventy is leading with our partners honestly in the
court system and also with Pennsylvania's from Modern Court, SABA
and other civic leaders, is to address these barriers. So
one is to pass legislation that would increase the pay
for jurors. So you know it's nine dollars for municipal court.

(21:36):
We want to increase that for federal court. I think
it's fifty dollars. We want to see that Arizona pays
over three hundred dollars with our journey, it's possible, right,
So we're going to fight to increase that pay. We
want to see coverage for childcare needs or care costs, right,
if you're caring for an elderly relative, right, So some
kind of compensation that would help you address those care

(21:57):
costs for people who are in those positions. Transportation costs, right,
there's also there's already mileage reimbursements. A lot of people
don't know that. So if you are coming to serve
on federal court, you could be from one of nine
counties and have to come to Philadelphia right from far away,
your mileage can be reimbursed. You can get gas money
right to come here. So just letting people know that

(22:19):
that is an option. If you have to stay overnight
in a hotel, that cost is already covered, right, So
letting people know that, but then also making sure that
with inflation and these other costs that are rising, that
the courts are that our government is covering those costs
for our durors so that they're not burdened with the
costs to serve and to perform this importan civic duty.

Speaker 3 (22:40):
If I can jump in there real quick, what Lauren
had mentioned in Philadelphia, in the county.

Speaker 5 (22:45):
Court system, it's nine dollars.

Speaker 3 (22:47):
And what makes Philadelphia different than every other county across
the state is we do not offer mileage reimbursement, so
it's more a hindrance for our durers than the other counties.
So we've tried talking to SEPTA to for some sort
of discount, really went nowhere and accept it's a different
issue right now.

Speaker 1 (23:08):
They're having their own financial issues right now.

Speaker 3 (23:12):
We have worked with local parking lots where if they
would offer a discount for the drawers. We would advertise
for them as like a little scratch my back down,
scratch your sort of thing, and we've we've been able
to offer that, but it's still ten dollars a day,
and that can get costly. And I just actually got
off the film before I was on this call here

(23:33):
working on something. It's the very early stages, but I'd
like to try to work something with ride shares where
you know, you put our court address into the final
destination and an automatic discount comes off, and in return,
we would filter customers their way.

Speaker 5 (23:49):
So we have to come up with unique ways here
to help our jewers out for this.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
The financial side of it. Nine dollars a day is
absolutely ridiculous. I believe it's been that way since eighty
one or eighty two. Another thing that we could do
that's been brought up, and I don't know if it's
ever going to get a eight traction.

Speaker 5 (24:06):
Would be to offer businesses tax breaks.

Speaker 3 (24:09):
You know, like, hey, listen, you pay your jury, you
pay your employees for jery duties, so they don't have
to worry about not being compensated.

Speaker 5 (24:16):
You know, we'll offer tax breaks, So maybe.

Speaker 3 (24:19):
Not the nine dollars, maybe not raise the nine dollars
but offer in a different way.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
Well, you're both involved in campaigns to raise awareness about
jury duty and why it's so important, and I wonder
if you could tell us a little more about those
initiatives and how we can clue into those.

Speaker 9 (24:38):
Yes, so we are part of the Voices for Justice
campaign and you can follow this on all Committee of
seventies social websites, right, So on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn you'll
see those, and there's different ads and things that'll probably
follow you around the internet too. But this is to
just raise awareness about why it matters. So there's the

(24:59):
kind of awareness about why jury service is important and
answering that call making sure you're paying attention to your
jury summons when it comes. But then also this other
piece that you and Patrick have mentioned that it's really
important for businesses to be responsible with their civic time
off policies too, and Committee of seventy has been really
vocal about giving flexible time for people to be pullworkers

(25:21):
and giving time off to vote. But that also extends
to jury service, right And I think a lot of
places have policies that say, sure, we'll give you time
off to be a duror, But what they really mean
is like one or two days and if you can
get out of it, please try right, And that's the
kind of unspoken part of that policy, But we really
want to hold up employers that have truly responsible policies

(25:46):
that are generous with that time and that really put
their money where their mouth is and would compensate employees
for you know, if it does take a week or
two for an employee to serve on a trial. We're
lifting up those examples of companies that are doing the
right thing and really doing right by their employees and
all of us by giving their employees.

Speaker 8 (26:07):
The time and space to serve on trials.

Speaker 9 (26:10):
So if they want to get involved, come to the
Committee of Seventies website. We have all the information you
need there for voices of justice. We're also doing a
civic education campaigns, so whether that's in rec centers, in
public spaces, within companies right to educate people about why
this matters. And then also through our civic education campaigns

(26:31):
in schools, so starting from fifth grade through high school
and into colleges. Pennsylvanians from Modern Courts has a wonderful campaign. Patrick,
you've participated in this righting high school classrooms, maybe you
could talk a little bit more about how you work
with high school kids.

Speaker 3 (26:47):
Pennsylvanians from modern Courts came up with this amazing program
to go out into the schools to teach civics.

Speaker 5 (26:55):
To be honest with you, because our schools really don't
teach it anymore.

Speaker 3 (26:59):
When it gets to a point of jury service, I've
been asked to come out and speak, So I've been
around to different middle schools and high schools to talk
about the importance of it. So if we can start
educating them early, and we can get those children to
go home and say, hey, mom, the jury commissioner was
in here today. I saw you throw that summons out
the other day. I don't know if that's a good idea,

(27:21):
you know.

Speaker 5 (27:21):
Do you know that?

Speaker 3 (27:22):
And maybe if they can regurgitate some of the things
that I taught them earlier in that day, they take
that home with them and then maybe they change their
parents' mindset. But it's a great program. We're going on
into so many different communities that I just I feel
blessed to be asked to do this from Pennsylvania's or
monic courts.

Speaker 1 (27:43):
Lauren, let me give you the last word. For anyone
listening who gets a jury summons, what is your message
to them.

Speaker 9 (27:49):
Well, my goodness, please respond, fill out your questionnaire. Don't
try to get out of it if it's at all
possible to do it. The one thing that we've absolutely
heard from the focus groups we ran with all kinds
of people was that the people who did have that
opportunity to serve, even if they were kind of bummed
about having to be on a jury, once they did it,

(28:11):
they found it so meaningful and so worthy of their time,
and that they really valued their ability to participate in
the justice system and have their voice heard and make
the system a little bit more fair for everybody. I
think that that is definitely something we could all use

(28:33):
a little bit more of and not not the worst
way to spend your day. So so please answer, answer
your jury serve.

Speaker 1 (28:41):
And there's ac He's a big plus. If people want
more information about everything we've talked about. Where are the
best places to.

Speaker 9 (28:48):
Go seventy dot org. That's s e v E N
T y dot O r G.

Speaker 1 (28:54):
Thank you both for joining us today. Lauren Christella, President
and CEO of the Committee of seventy Patrick and Philadelphia
Jury Commissioner to talk about the crucial role of jury
duty in our democracy, from the courtroom to the community,
serving on a jury as one of the most direct
ways citizens can participate in justice. Thank you both for
joining us today.

Speaker 5 (29:14):
Thank you for having us.

Speaker 1 (29:15):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app they Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Lorraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrow and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?

(29:36):
You've been listening to Insight and thank you