An Educator’s Tweet Led to a $10,000 Donation to Organizations Helping Philly Schools

With Philadelphia wrapped up in its second Made in America music festival, one educator decided to use the excitement around the event to keep attention on the school funding crisis.

Heather Marcus (@MsHeatherMarcus) who was laid off from Masterman High and then rehired as a teacher at Lawton Elementary, tweeted to a number of performers and organizations involved with the festival, requesting they make a donation to the city’s cash-strapped schools.

Pls donate some of your @MIAFestival profits to the Philly Public Schools! @publicenemyftp @mrchuckd @2chainz Contact: @MsHeatherMarcus

— Heather Marcus (@MsHeatherMarcus) August 30, 2013

“I thought, well, Made in America is coming to our city and making millions of dollars. Maybe they can donate some of that money. Not they have to or should, but maybe they would. People have said its not their responsibility to fund the schools, and I agree, but they could certainly step and help if they choose to,” Marcus told Generocity.

“Our schools are disintegrating,” Marcus added. “Someone needs to help us.”

Soon after Marcus sent the tweets, Chuck D (@MrChuckD) of the hip-hop group Public Enemy followed her on Twitter. The two exchanged emails and phone calls, and he invited her to join the group onstage.

Marcus gave a passionate speech on behalf of children being disenfranchised by the crisis. “Do you think every child in Philadelphia deserves to have a certified school counselor?” Marcus said to a roaring crowd.

Then, onstage at the festival Saturday, Chuck D made the surprise announcement that he would donate $10,000 across five organizations helping Philadelphia public schools.

Understandably, Marcus expressed her shock at Chuck D’s response.

Watch Heather’s full remarks below:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuUZ8Z9knok?rel=0]

Marcus was allowed to choose one of the five organizations to receive $2,000 worth of the donation.  She chose Philly Futures, a nonprofit that focuses on low-income, first generation college students.

Now, Philly Futures is partnering with Philly School Counselors United — which Marcus helped start — to organize an essay contest for the money. It has not been decided how the money will be distributed, but Marcus said that it’s likely the full amount will go to one winner.

In the meantime, Marcus hopes to bring more publicity to the school funding crisis. “I feel like it needs to be in the media and it needs to be on national television shows where people can talk about the situation.”