If you were on Capitol Hill last Thursday, chances are you saw mobs of young people swarming the Hill in pink t-shirts. This wasn’t just another 8th grade field trip; this was Planned Parenthood’s annual Lobby Day, in conjunction with our Organizing and Policy Summit and Youth Organizing and Policy Conferences.
The majority of my internship so far has been, along with the rest of the office, preparing for the waves of Planned Parenthood employees and activists’ descent on Washington. We planned them a conference, organized a Lobby Day, facilitated break-out sessions, covered everything in pink, and networked, networked, networked! A group of OSU students from our campus PP group were also here for the conference, and it was nice to see some familiar faces in the throng.
As part of my appointment onto the Young Leaders Advisory Council for this upcoming year, I got the chance to meet other young leaders from across the country who are also diehard advocates for reproductive justice (EXCITING RIGHT?! For me, this was like Hanukkah). I’ll be working closely with them through the end of next summer to help the big decision makers at Planned Parenthood keep young people in mind when deciding the future of the organization. Hearing their stories and successes has been an inspiration, as they’re all truly remarkable people.
Even though the conference is over, there is still work to be done. Every day more states take the step towards defunding or shutting the lights off to an organization I’ve thrown my hat and name in with. As the summer begins winding down, I feel lucky to be one of the folks who will get to take their work with them beyond DC. I can’t wait to get back to campus to start applying all that I’ve learned so far. Now that I know how the DC office operates, I know what they want to see out in the field, and I’m really looking forward to giving them a reason to keep good old Ohio in mind every time they talk about successes on the ground.
Sorry to those who might get sick of hearing me only talk about work, but this is a very time-consuming job and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Below are some links about the conference (from an affiliate, scroll down to read about what the conference actually is) and to my student group’s Facebook page if you’re interested in joining us on campus! Lastly, as always, please let me know if you have any questions related to what I do (that includes health or health center/services questions!). I’m here to be a resource!
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/local-press-releases/planned-parenthood-federation-america-selects-20-connecticut-young-leaders-attend-national-orga-37274.htm
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/VOX-Voices-For-Planned-Parenthood-OSU/117888558222143
LZ
The majority of my internship so far has been, along with the rest of the office, preparing for the waves of Planned Parenthood employees and activists’ descent on Washington. We planned them a conference, organized a Lobby Day, facilitated break-out sessions, covered everything in pink, and networked, networked, networked! A group of OSU students from our campus PP group were also here for the conference, and it was nice to see some familiar faces in the throng.
As part of my appointment onto the Young Leaders Advisory Council for this upcoming year, I got the chance to meet other young leaders from across the country who are also diehard advocates for reproductive justice (EXCITING RIGHT?! For me, this was like Hanukkah). I’ll be working closely with them through the end of next summer to help the big decision makers at Planned Parenthood keep young people in mind when deciding the future of the organization. Hearing their stories and successes has been an inspiration, as they’re all truly remarkable people.
Even though the conference is over, there is still work to be done. Every day more states take the step towards defunding or shutting the lights off to an organization I’ve thrown my hat and name in with. As the summer begins winding down, I feel lucky to be one of the folks who will get to take their work with them beyond DC. I can’t wait to get back to campus to start applying all that I’ve learned so far. Now that I know how the DC office operates, I know what they want to see out in the field, and I’m really looking forward to giving them a reason to keep good old Ohio in mind every time they talk about successes on the ground.
Sorry to those who might get sick of hearing me only talk about work, but this is a very time-consuming job and I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Below are some links about the conference (from an affiliate, scroll down to read about what the conference actually is) and to my student group’s Facebook page if you’re interested in joining us on campus! Lastly, as always, please let me know if you have any questions related to what I do (that includes health or health center/services questions!). I’m here to be a resource!
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/newsroom/local-press-releases/planned-parenthood-federation-america-selects-20-connecticut-young-leaders-attend-national-orga-37274.htm
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/VOX-Voices-For-Planned-Parenthood-OSU/117888558222143
LZ
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