Judge Paul P. Panepinto of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas serves as both Philadelphia Chair and Pennsylvania Chair of the national "Do the Write Thing" campaign.
The "Do the Write Thing" challenge is a nationwide program that gives middle school students the opportunity to communicate through classroom discussion and written essays what impact youth violence has had on their lives. The "Do the Write Thing" challenge emphasizes personal responsibility and seeks to empower young people to break the cycles of violence in their homes, schools, and neighborhoods.
At the inception of the program, it included only public schools. Judge Panepinto recently expanded the essay challenge component of the program to also include charter and parochial schools. In addition, Judge Panepinto was crucial in expanding the program into the Harrisburg/Dauphin County and Pittsburgh/Western Area districts.
At the 2006 Philadelphia "Do the Write Thing" awards ceremony, a V.I.P. committee of area judges, lawyers, and businesspeople volunteered their time to read more than 500 essays submitted by students in the Greater Philadelphia area.
The essay challenge presented to students asked seventh- and eighth-grade students to identify how violence has affected them, what they believe are some causes of violence, and their solutions for solving the problem of violence.
Judge Panepinto utilized popular talk radio in Philadelphia to promote the "Do the Write Thing" challenge among minority communities. Judge Panepinto has also made critical suggestions for advancing the program: for example, an event for teachers, principals, and corporate sponsors in order to communicate in detail what the National Campaign to Stop Violence's mission is and the role of the "Do the Write Thing" program in that mission.
The National Campaign to Stop Violence is sponsored by the Kuwait-America Foundation, the Kuwait Foudnation for the Advancement of Science, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Criminal Justice Division of the Texas Governor's Office, the Marriott Corporation, the Annenberg Foundation, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Children and Youth Coordinating Council Office of the Governor of Georgia, and the National Guard Bureau. The Council of the Great City Schools, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Greater Washington Urban League Inc., and the Young Astronaut Council are all participating organizations.
Click here for more information on the national "Do the Write Thing" challenge.