Building on the Michigan Policy Summit

Last Saturday Planned Parenthood staff, volunteers, supporters, and students were able to attend and participate in the 2^nd Annual Michigan Policy Summit (www.mipolicysummit.org). It was a terrific event! About 600 progressives from all around Michigan joined together to network and mingle, learn about and get involved in efforts around health care, clean energy and education, and hear two great keynote speeches from Jim Hightower and Amy Goodman.

Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Michigan had a display and activism table at the Summit’s Organizational Showcase, where 55 organizations highlighted their work on a myriad of issues, ranging from ending torture and homelessness, to supporting LGBT and women’s rights, to registering underrepresented folks to vote, and preserving our great lakes. And there were several other pro-choice groups at the Summit, including the Michigan Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, MARAL, NOW and MI List.

Meeting so many other activists and organizers was exhilarating! It’s exciting to know that all the hard work we do here at Planned Parenthood is being matched by dozens of other organizations, also working on issues we care about, even if they are outside the realm of what we do here. There’s so much common ground between the work we do and that of our peers, that having the opportunity to get together and talk about it, which is what we did at the Summit, is invaluable. There are so many ways that we can work together to make Michigan the state we dream about. That’s the point of this Summit. The other point is that we don’t have to just do it once a year at an annual event. Now, after the Summit, is the time to get working. Let’s build on the new relationships we started on Saturday and continue to build on those relationships we’ve been nurturing for years. Working together is the only way we can get our goals accomplished...and besides, it's way more fun!

PS Planned Parenthood signed up over 100 new Million Strong Campaign supporters at the Michigan Policy Summit last weekend. To learn more about this campaign and to sign up yourself, visit our website: www.miplannedparenthood.org