The “Do the Write Thing" (DtWT) Challenge is an initiative of the National Campaign to Stop Violence, which seeks to empower youth, through their writings, with the ability to reduce youth violence. The Challenge gives middle school students the opportunity to examine the impact of violence on their lives, communicate in written form what they think should be done to reduce youth violence, and make a personal commitment to do something about the problem. In addition, DtWT helps to spur creative classroom discussions about the impact of violence on our communities and possible paths to resolution. 

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In 1996, Philadelphia was one of the ten original cities that expanded DtWT from a pilot project in Washington, D.C. to a National Program. Philadelphia continued its participation as a change agent until 2014. In 2019, Philadelphia rebooted the Challenge under the leadership of the Honorable Lori A. Dumas, in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, the District Attorney's Office of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department, Peace + Love, and Philadelphia City Council.

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DtWT asks 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students to submit a rap, poem, song, or essay for judging by an esteemed group of community activists, city officials and celebrity judges. Annually, a local celebration is held to honor the top student writers from each school. During this celebration, one female and one male student are selected as Philadelphia Ambassadors to be honored during "National Recognition Week" in Washington, D.C. and have their writings inducted into the United States Library of Congress. In previous recognition weeks, National Ambassadors have met with national leaders, including U.S. Senators and a U.S. Supreme Court Justice, to discuss youth violence prevention.

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