The Philly Specials Aim To Give Gifts To Every Local Public School Kid

PHILADELPHIA — A day before The Philly Specials drop their third holiday benefit album, they announced a partnership with The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia for a new charitable initiative.

Introducing Operation Snowball: an effort aimed at celebrating students in Philly’s public schools this holiday season. Proceeds from sales of the album on vinyl and CD will go to supporting Operation Snowball.

The new album, which is titled "A Philly Special Christmas Party" and drops Friday, aims to raise enough money to make every single kid in the School District of Philadelphia feel special. But that’s just the start: The Philly Specials want this project to snowball into a larger spirit of giving in the Philly area.

To help make Operation Snowball a success, fans can purchase A Philly Special Christmas Party on vinyl via the official website, buy a limited-edition CD available in select retailers Friday (as supplies last), and donate directly to The Fund for The School District of Philadelphia, via the Operation Snowball donation page online here.

"When I first came to Philadelphia, it was apparent how much pride and joy, the sense of community and family that this city exudes," former Philadelpia Eagles center and The Philly Specials singer Jason Kelce said. " It’s the City of Brotherly Love, and this city has supported this initiative over the past two years. We’ve done two Christmas albums and because of your support, we’ve raised over four million dollars and given to over fifty charitable organizations. And this year we are trying to go even bigger, we’re trying to give a gift to every kid in the Philly public schools this holiday season. If that’s not the holiday spirit, I don’t know what is. That’s the Philadelphia spirit that I’ve come to know, love, and appreciate."

"Santa Drives An Astrovan," the album’s third single, features Mt. Joy and Kelce and has reached No. 1 on the iTunes Holiday Charts. The first two singles from A Philly Special Christmas Party include the iTunes No. 1 holiday chart topping Kelce and Stevie Nicks duet, "Maybe This Christmas," and the No. 7 positioned Jason, Travis, and Boyz II Men collaboration, "It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights)."

Listen to the tracks below:

The sophomore album, A Philly Special Christmas Special raised over $3M and singles, "This Christmas," "All I Want for Christmas is You," "Fairytale of Philadelphia," and "Pretty Paper," have garnered more than 10 million streams across platforms. "Fairytale of Philadelphia" reached No. 1 on iTunes, 50,000 copies have been sold on vinyl, and the stop-motion special created by unPOP Animation, "A Philly Special Christmas Special," has been viewed more than 700,000 times with 10,000 live viewers tuning in to its premiere on Thanksgiving night.

Its predecessor in 2022, "A Philly Special Christmas," immediately sold out its limited pressing. The record reached four top ten spots on various Billboard Music Charts, including No. 1 on the Compilation Albums Chart. A Philly Special Christmas donated more than $1 million to local charities including Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and fulfilled the wish lists of Philadelphia School District teachers via Donors Choose.

As the only fundraising organization with a direct understanding of the needs of more than 116,000 students and families in Philadelphia’s traditional public schools, The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia works to put an excellent public education within reach of every child in Philadelphia by aligning philanthropic and private sector dollars with district priorities to advance academic achievement.