The Power of PEF: From 17th and Dickinson to the State House
The Gala is on June 4th. In the weeks leading to the celebration, we’ll be sharing stories highlighting the power and impact of the organization that powers the work we do here at PG2C. That’s the Philadelphia Education Fund. For 40 years, PEF has powered college access in Philly.
We caught up with Pennsylvania State Rep Jordan Harris at Bartram High School a few weeks ago. Nestled in Southwest Philly, Bartram is home to a few greats, and Rep Harris is one of those who went from his block on 17th and Dickinson to the PA State House. Before he spoke on an alumni panel hosted by PEF’s College Access Program at Bartram, we had a moment to learn more about how PEF powered his education journey and the scholarship that bridged the gap he hurdled with their help.
Harris said it himself, on camera: “I’m State Representative Jordan Harris, and Philly Goes to College, powered by Philadelphia Education Fund.” That’s the model. PhillyGoes2College, the platform you’re reading this on, is powered by PEF. So is the scholarship he’s about to talk about. So is the road from Bartram to Harrisburg.
Class of 2002 at Bartram. Millersville University after that. Today, Majority Chairman of the Pennsylvania House Appropriations Committee, the seat that manages the state’s budget.
The throughline he kept returning to was a scholarship.
It was called the Last Dollar Scholarship. PEF still runs it. The award is need-based, $500 to $7,500, for graduates of PEF’s College Access Program who enroll full-time in a two or four-year non-profit college. Bartram is one of six high schools currently eligible. When Harris got it, it paid for books and the smaller line items his other aid didn’t cover at Millersville. He doesn’t dress it up. “It literally was the last dollar. It was exactly what I needed at the last moment to help fund my education.” Without it, he says, he doesn’t know how he would have finished.
That number is small from one angle. It is the difference between a degree and no degree from another. “There’s plenty of young people who $500, $750 bill stops them from finishing school.”
Then he zoomed out. By 2030, 54 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties will have more people over 65 than under 18. The Commonwealth’s economy runs on young people who get educated here, stay here, and work here. Programs like PEF, in his words, are on the front line of Pennsylvania’s financial future.
“I am a prime example of what can happen with the right investment and support.”
The kid from 17th and Dickinson is now the one writing the checks. Books paid for at Millersville become budgets managed in Harrisburg. That is the power of PEF in one sentence.
If you’re a senior at Bartram, Frankford, Furness, Kensington Creative & Performing Arts, Olney, or Roxborough, the Last Dollar Scholarship application is open through July 8, 2026 at 5pm. Apply here: https://bit.ly/peflastscholars
