Dear Friends and Supporters,

It has been an extraordinary year for The Philly Youth Poetry Movement. As the only youth poetry organization serving Pennsylvania, we have also grown into one of the most respected in the country. We are deeply committed to creating a safe space for Philadelphia-area youth to discover the power of their voices through spoken word and literary expression. Through poetry we focus on literacy, civic engagement, and life skills. 

Our goal is to not just make better poets, but support teens as leaders who want to make their voices heard.

From free poetry workshops that have reached well beyond maximum capacity, to inspiring performances that received standing ovations, 2011 has been a year of amazing achievements. Some of our accomplishments this year:

• PYPM Youth Slam Team honored as the #1 Youth Slam Team in the world after competing against over 50 other youth poetry teams to win the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry competition in California. 

• Received the Knight Arts Challenge matching grant of $40,000 to establish a permanent community arts space that will be a safe haven for creative expression. It will PYPM to expand our literary arts-based programming for Philadelphia teens throughout the year and insure that we are a sustainable fixture in the community.

• Average 55 teens at each free weekly poetry workshop, and over 125 youth at each monthly poetry open mic/slam.

• Youth poets performed at City Hall, Kimmel Center, Suzanne Roberts Theater, State of Young Philly, and received two standing ovations at TedxPhilly.

• 100% of our seniors graduated high school and are currently attending four-year colleges.

PYPM, however, is a fully volunteer-based organization. With your support we can change that and ensure that PYPM programs are available to more youth throughout Philadelphia. Our goals for 2012 are to hire 2 full-time staff, establish a permanent community arts space by matching The Knight Arts Challenge grant, and offer free after-school workshops and performance opportunities throughout the week.

Please make your year-end, fully tax deductible gift by December 31st in celebration of PYPM's 5-Year Anniversary and to support our work with youth poets across this city.

Thank you for supporting PYPM and Happy Holidays!