In 2006, Greg Corbin started an organization dedicated to providing an opportunity for youth poets in the city of Philadelphia to perform at a venue among their peers. Over the next five years, the Philly Youth Poetry Movement grew to become a vital part of the Philadelphia youth and arts community as a place where young poets can discover the power of their voices. In addition to a monthly youth open mic and poetry slam, PYPM now offers free weekly writing and performance workshops, mentoring, tutoring, travel opportunities including the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival, the annual Dream Big Literary Arts Festival and the PYPM Slam League for Philadelphia area high schools.

This growth has been made possible by support and contributions from members of the surrounding community. Donations and sponsorships help PYPM provide all of these amazing opportunities to youth ages 13-19 around the city of Philadelphia, as well as creating sustainable programs that encourage personal growth, emotional healing, peer interaction, educational advancement, community involvement and social change.

We've launched the 5 for Five campaign in celebration of the PYPM Five Year Anniversary to keep this growth and momentum going. We're asking donors to contribute $5 for every year PYPM has been serving Philadelphia youth. To donate to the 5 for Five campaign, click on the Donate button below to make your $25 contribution online. 

PYPM is the only non-profit organization in Philadelphia that is dedicated to creating a safe space for expression, education and empowerment through spoken word. We serve over 1,000 youth annually, average 30 teens at our workshops and 200 youth at our montly slams. With our growth we are even more proud to report that 100% of our seniors graduated H.S and are attending four-year colleges.

PYPM is run by six volunteers and a dedicated board that is deeply committed to the development of Philadelphia youth. We have been using donated spaces since our founding to run our programs, however our growth is quickly exceeding our current resources. This is why we need you.

The 5 for Five Campaign will help PYPM focus on capacity buliding to support our programs and serve more youth across the city. It will enable us to build critical infrastructure that directly impacts how we run our programs, where we run them and how often.

Click below to make your 5 for Five $25 donation.