At rally, Cos speaks to the wonderfulness of education

By CHRISTINE OLLEY Philadelphia Daily News
olleyc@phillynews.com 215-854-5184
BILL COSBY lent his voice and legend yesterday to the kickoff of a grassroots campaign in Olney called Mission: Education.
"We have to make sure that our children develop a love for education," Cosby said to a crowd that slowly gathered as he began speaking.
Mission: Education, organized by the Father's Day Rally Committee and the Philadelphia Education Fund, is an awareness campaign designed to unite the community in one common goal - the importance of educating every child.
"We're asking those of you responsible for the child to make sure that the child gets to the school, eats properly and does his or her homework," Cosby said at the rally, held at Broad and Chew Streets, in Olney.
"We raised the children so that they would go on and be higher and better," Cosby said. "That's what we're raising them for, we're not raising them to go out on the street corner and hang out with the Bloods and the Crips.
"We have to give our children love."
Information was available yesterday about vocational schooling, graduation action plans and college-access programs.
"A child needs to be educated," said Bilal Qayyum, the president of the Father's Day Rally Committee, an organization designed to promote positive interaction among individuals that leads to resolving problems confronting African-American communities.
The Philadelphia Education Fund is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of public education for underserved youth throughout the Philadelphia region, according to its Web site.
Qayyum said that raising the expectations for children's educational performance while increasing access to resources can help cut the dropout rate, reduce crime and give kids a chance to succeed.
Yesterday's rally was one of many planned before the end of the year, Qayyum said.
Plans have not been solidified for the next event, but Qayyum said that it would be in October, in West Philadelphia.
Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, also in attendance, said that education dictates how you're going to live.
"There's a whole group of jobs you can get when you get A's, there's a whole group of jobs you can get when you get B's, C's, and D's," she said.
"Then there's no jobs because you don't have any education.