PNN’s mission is to engage, educate and empower our neighbors to make our City a better place to live. Here’s what’s coming up in each of these areas:
Engage: Support PNN; Take Part in Christmas Action to Protect Chinatown
Educate: Sign Up for PNN's "All Hands" General Membership Meeting
Empower: Join Our January 6th Remembrance Event; People's Platform
No matter how you celebrate it, we wish you a happy Holiday Season and a great New Year!
SUPPORT PNN – SUPPORT LOCAL POLITICS
We know you are getting end-of-the year fundraising requests from many national and big million-dollar+ organizations. And I’m sure they are doing worthwhile work. But as Tip O’Neil once famously said “All politics is local”.
We at Philly Neighborhood Networks also believe that you have to build strong movements and organizations at the local level in order to have an impact on the issues facing our neighborhoods, city, state, and nation. And that is what we have been doing for 17 years – supporting issues and candidates that put people over profit.
But we do not have any big corporations or millionaire donors to fund our grass roots organization. We depend on our members to provide the people power and donations to fund our work. Last year was a busy year and we hope to continue this momentum into the next year.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT. As we move to the last week of the year, we ask you to donate to Onward 2023, our end-of-the-year fundraiser. Thank you to those who have already contributed and the rest of you still have time.
Or Send Donation by Mail to: Philly Neighborhood Networks, c/o Gloria Gilman, 121 S. Broad St, Suite 1710, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Contributions to Philly Neighborhood Networks using the above link are not tax deductible.
If you prefer to make a tax-deductible donation to our 501(c)(3) org, Philly Neighborhood Networks Justice Fund Please Click this Link
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Christmas Action to Protect Chinatown
Sunday, December 25th, 1PM-7PM, 10th & Arch St
If you'd like to get into some good trouble on Christmas Day, you can join allies to defend Chinatown. Here are the details: Xmas is the busiest day of the year in Chinatown, and it's a great opportunity to raise our voices about the danger to the Chinatown about the threat posed by potential arena which would be just a few feet away from the community.
The action will take place at 10th and Arch Streets. We'll be handing out flyers, singing parody Christmas and Hanukkah songs about Chinatown and the arena, playing with dreidels, observing the 8th night of Hanukkah, and getting postcards signed to send to City Council and the mayor. Join us for an hour, then support local business by getting some Chinese food.
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January 6th Remembrance Event
Friday, January 6th, 5PM-6:30PM, South Side of City Hall
Join us and allies on January 6th for a Rush Hour Rally at South City Hall in remembrance of that dark day in American history when a sore loser and his cronies planned and incited an armed mob to attack our nation’s capital to overturn the will of the people.
The rally will take place from 5PM until 6:30PM on the ample median strip on South Broad Street, just south of City Hall (across from the Ritz Carlton Hotel). We will conduct a visibility event and carry our “DEFEND DEMOCRACY” signs (supplied) along with others that allies will bring.
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Pot-Luck Volunteer Appreciation Party
Friday, January 13th, 5PM-7PM, Summit Church, 6757 Greene St
We would like to invite everyone who volunteered for us this year to join us for a Pot-Luck Volunteer Appreciation Party to be held at Summit Presbyterian Church located at 6757 Greene Street in Mt. Airy. Bring your favorite dish, if you can, but we’ll provide some extra food, just in case. We are putting together the details for it, but expect fun and games, and we'll take care of dessert and refreshments.
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People's Platform Press Conference
Monday, January 16th, 12PM, City Hall (loc TBD)
The Alliance for a Just Philadelphia (A4JP), of which PNN is a member, will be holding a press conference at City Hall on Monday, January 16th at noon to reveal our "People's Platform" for 2023.
The platform is the culmination of a six-month process, which included an in-person retreat, multiple A4JP member meetings, two virtual sessions for public opinion, and our People's Assembly that took place a few weeks ago. In that work, we received a lot of great input that we think makes this People's Platform representative of the needs of the people of our city. No need to sign up, just join us on January 16th at City Hall.
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"All Hands" General Membership Meeting
Saturday, January 28th, 3PM-5PM, Virtual (SAVE THE DATE)
"Time to mark your calendars! PNN’s 18th annual membership meeting is coming up on Saturday, January 28th from 3-5 PM on zoom. Agenda details are still being worked out, but you can be sure the meeting will focus squarely on the economic and political challenges we face in making Philly thrive for all its residents. Want to be part of the solution, not the problem?
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This Week in History
Dec 23, 1783 – Washington Retires. In a seminal moment in our nation's history, General George Washington stepped down as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and retired to his farm in Virginia, assuring that our nation would be in the hands of a civilian government.
Dec 25, 1914 – Christmas Truce. Shortly after the start of WWI, on Christmas morning, German troops emerged from their foxholes to call for a one-day truce to celebrate the holiday.
Dec 26, 1966 – First Kwanzaa. The seven-day holiday, which has strong African roots, was designed by Dr. Maulana Karenga as a celebration of African American family, community, and culture.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director