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Upper Darby teen advisory board recounts Harrisburg advocacy visit, cites funding barrier
Summary
Members of the Upper Darby Municipal Library Teen Advisory Board described a March visit to Harrisburg to advocate for sustained library funding and youth services, saying state lawmakers helped cover travel costs and that the trip strengthened ties between teens and their representatives.
Jean Kocher, program coordinator at the Upper Darby Municipal Branch of the Sellers Memorial Free Public Library, presented the Upper Darby Teen Advisory Board’s recent advocacy trip to Harrisburg and described how the program has grown since its 2018 start.
Kocher told the Delaware County Library Board that the Teen Advisory Board, known as TAB, began as a group of summer volunteers who wanted year-round involvement and has since expanded to about 35 members from grades seven through 12. "We started TAB in 2018 with a group of teens who are really interested in continuing to volunteer," Kocher said.
The teens said their annual leadership forum — a local event that brings municipal and state leaders to the library — led to invitations to visit state lawmakers in Harrisburg. Atifa Mejera, a TAB member, described how small-group conversations during the forum deepened connections: "These conversations are where the real connection happened, and they helped us understand the perspectives of the school, the council, the reps," she said.
TAB members said Representative Curry and Representative Boyd helped secure about $2,100 in donated funds to pay for a bus to Harrisburg. While there, members distributed more than 200 pins and brochures they created to highlight the importance of libraries for youth, watched the Pennsylvania House in session, toured the Ryan and Senate libraries and met with legislative staff. The teens said Speaker Joanna McClinton spent her lunch period with them and spoke about her path to leadership.
Members described concrete outcomes from the trip: deeper relationships with their state representatives, plans for future collaboration (including an upcoming representative visit and a proposed advocacy program with Representative Curry), and enhanced understanding of the legislative process. "We gained insight into the legislative process by watching the house in session," a TAB member said.
Teens also said the visit inspired them to continue civic engagement: one attendee told the board that seeing people from their own neighborhoods in positions of power made them feel hopeful about the future.
An audience question-and-answer period followed the presentation, during which board members asked about TAB’s event history and outreach. Kocher said TAB built its program offerings over time; what began as one event grew to five annual large events as teens proposed new ideas and took on planning responsibilities.
The board praised the presentation and encouraged the teens to continue advocacy and leadership work. The session then moved on to the meeting’s regular business.
This account is based on remarks and materials presented by Jean Kocher and TAB members during the Delaware County Library Board meeting.
