Time to Share
Personal Stories
Written by Jackie Gailey Raible
July 22, 2021
You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.”
― Maya Angelou
Mission
PhillyTweens.com is an online news magazine focusing on urban parents, teens, and tweens. Mainstream media often just scratches the surface of issues impacting this group, PhillyTweens does a deep dive. It’s a platform that unites parents and their kids in conversation and spirit. We provide in-depth coverage of news stories relevant to urban families; offer expert advice; firsthand stories; school, camp, and activity directories; and updates on events that interest city kids.
March 13, 2020. I doubt anyone will forget that day. The Philadelphia School District closed its buildings, restaurants went dark, the city streets were quiet, empty.
I remember walking to Rittenhouse Square with my daughter the next day. Florists had dropped off flowers meant for weddings that were no longer to be, not that day. It was beautiful, sad, and eerie. But being outside made it easier to breathe.
At home, I watched Covid 19 news coverage for hours. I was afraid for my friends in the industry. Instead of enjoying time with their families they were working long days covering a dangerous story with no end in sight. It’s grueling, exhausting work and I missed it, for a minute.
I had nothing but time in front of me and no professional identity, my freelance work had stalled. It made me anxious and then it didn’t. I wasn’t making money; I wasn’t knee deep in Covid coverage, but I was making time. Time to meet friends in the park to share our fears and watch our children play. Time to write messages in chalk for by-passers with my daughter. Time to reflect on the age old saying, life is short.
Now as the city starts to come back to life it’s time to write the stories Philadelphia needs to tell. There’s so much to cover; resilience, loss, recovery, our new normal. I want to tell these stories not for a network or corporation, not for my name in the credits or on a check for services rendered. I want to tell them for my family and yours. For the students facing another year of change and uncertainty, for the businesses working to regain the ground they lost. I want to write not to just pay the bills, but to hopefully make my community a little stronger. We all know we’re a little wiser. I’m so thankful PhillyTweens came to me. I’m ready, it’s time.
Share your thoughts, feelings, fears and successes with us. Personal blogs will always be given time and space at Philly Tweens.
History
PhillyTweens.com was started in 2018 by local mom, author, and communications professional Paige Wolf. She wanted to build a space to help parents navigate the city and the world, drawing on expertise from national experts as well as local resources and organizations.
After years of growing Philly Tweens, she was ready to pass the baton and knew the project would be in amazing hands with her mom friend, communications colleague and journalist Jackie Gailey Raible.