Image Description: PPT member and staff, one in a pink shirt and one in yellow, high five while smiling at the annual PPT summer party.
Last Wednesday, 100 PPT members and friends gathered at the lovely Olympia park to enjoy yummy food, excellent music, and–most importantly–the company of some of the best organizers, friends, and neighbors Pittsburgh has to offer.
Our annual summer party is always a chance to pause and affirm the things that make our movement sweet. This year, the party had a special meaning, coming in the middle of a long, critical organizing fight for transit funding at the state level. (In fact, the day before, the PA Senate passed a bill that claimed to fund transit while actually diverting funds from the Public Transit Trust Fund to highways, roads, and bridges! While that bill has since been voted down by the House, it still meant that we were in extra need of a moment of positivity and connection.)
Lucky for us, that’s exactly what PPT does best.
We’ve always felt that organizing for our community’s rights and dignity is easiest when we bake in opportunities for joy and authentic reconnection. Our party was a night of dancing, laughter, and taking stock of the incredible progress we’ve made over the last year.
Progress like:
- Hosting two paid organizing fellowships focusing on Mon Valley residents and transit workers (like the amazing Kristen Greene and Tom Conroy, who both shared a bit about their experience)
- Launching a new paid organizing fellowship in the Hilltop community (stay tuned for the application, and please apply if you’re a Hilltop community member!)
- Incredible growth in our statewide campaign, to the tune of over 25,000 new supporters (yes, our statewide campaign manager Amtrak-ed in from Philly to party with us!)
- A new membership definition that aligns better with our values and brings our total number of members to a stunning 1,500
- And much more!
Here’s an awesome video our member Joe Coniff made recapping the event:
Check out our gallery of pictures below, and our Flickr album if you want to see more pictures from the event. Major thanks to member Marcelese Cooper for documenting the event!
