Police pal up with W. Philly children

Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell joined more than 300 parents, public school students and city officials gathered at a West Philadelphia elementary school this June to celebrate the opening of the city's newest Police Athletic League center. The new Tucker Center --Eoperating out of the Alexander Wilson Elementary School at 46th Street and Woodland Avenue -- is being jointly run by PAL and the University. Penn is also funding part of the program. PAL is a non-profit, after-school program for children ages six to 18. The program is in its 50th year of existence, and while it focuses primarily on sports, recent years have seen an increasing emphasis on academic concerns. "PAL tries to offer an outlet -- some place to excel, a place to learn and grow -- in a safe setting," said David Shafie, who coordinated the opening of the newest PAL center. Most PAL centers are run by the Philadelphia Police, who pay supervising officers a regular salary to operate and organize each center. The new center -- named in honor of former Police Commissioner Kevin M. Tucker -- was inaugurated to loud applause from the parents and youngsters. "What PAL is all about is community policing, and certainly Kevin Tucker was in the forefront of community policing," Richard Neal, city police commissioner and PAL President told the crowd. The University's involvement with the Tucker Center is unique to the PAL program. Normally, all of the city's PAL centers are forced to divide up money raised through an awards dinners and other fundraising efforts. But the University has begun an endowment fund that is specifically designed to ensure the success of the Tucker Center. Additionally, the Tucker Center is jointly run through the University and PAL. University Police Officer Willard Cooper supervises the center alongside a Philadelphia policeman. Cooper was selected by Penn's Director of Special Services, Susan Hawkins, from a large pool of candidates. Each supervising police officer is supposed to serve as a role model for the youth. All of the PAL equipment and programming is free for the children. Wilson Elementary -- located at 46th Street and Woodland Avenue -- is the latest addition to the program, which already boasts over 24,000 registered participants throughout the city. The elementary schools involved in PAL play an integral role in the success of the program. The ceremony included speeches by city and University officials and the Alexander Wilson School 50 -- the school's singing group -- performed an original song in honor of the PAL program. "PAL is one of many programs that Penn sponsors with the goal of improving the community by spreading needed resources," said Glenn Bryan, the University's Director of Community Relations and one of the founders of PAL. Other founders of the program include the University's Executive Vice President John Fry, Public Safety Managing Director Thomas Seamon and Assistant Director of the Program for Public Service Cory Bowman. "The program was created with a combination of funds from Penn and the Police Department," Fry said. "The University has fundraised over $300,000 for community development programs like this one."