PPMW raises $144,000 for abortion access in 15 minutes at Impact Gala
For Immediate Release: Sept. 30, 2024
Renowned artist and activist Common poses with PPFA President Alexis McGill Johnson (left) and PPMW President Dr. Laura Meyers
Washington, D.C. — Nearly 500 guests gathered at the Impact Gala hosted by Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC (PPMW) on Saturday, September 28, 2024, where supporters donated $144,000 during a 15-minute “Fund Our Future” paddle raise.
Their generosity answered calls for support by PPMW President and CEO Dr. Laura Meyers and Planned Parenthood Federation of America President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson, who were joined onstage by acclaimed artist and activist Common, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, and prominent award winners, such as Maryland First Lady Dawn Moore and Jolene Ivey, Chair, Prince George’s County Council.
“Choosing hope”
Gala Co-chairs Tammy Boyd and Eden Shiferaw set the tone for the evening, focused on ensuring that patients from both the DC region and traveling from states with abortion bans can access expert, compassionate health care at PPMW, regardless of their ability to pay.
In her remarks, Dr. Meyers shared the powerful story of PPMW supporting a Texas patient who was denied abortion care necessary to preserve her health. She also revealed that the number of patients PPMW cares for from outside DC, Maryland, and Virginia has dramatically increased, quadrupling from May to August 2024, due to abortion bans now in effect in 22 U.S. states.
Facing these incredibly difficult circumstances, Alexis McGill Johnson reflected, “We are all here tonight because we refuse to be discouraged…we are choosing hope.” She emphasized that “hope is not charity — it is actually an act of resistance” and “hope needs infrastructure” to fund health centers, education, and advocacy. That’s where PPMW’s community of supporters comes in.
At PPMW, growing that infrastructure requires expanding the Abortion Access Fund — which has supported more than 2,000 patients, but today faces surging demand. It also includes the upcoming launch of PPMW’s first mobile health center, which will bring health care directly to thousands of people who need it most.
Honoring health equity champions
PPMW presented four awards to high-impact leaders who have served as champions for sexual and reproductive health equity, access, and education:
- PPMW Champion of Reproductive Health Award: Maryland First Lady Dawn Flythe Moore
- PPMW Distinguished Philanthropist Award: John V. Thomas and the Adele M. Thomas Charitable Foundation, Inc.
- PPMW Ally Award: The Honorable Jolene Ivey, Chair, Prince George's County Council (D-5)
- PPMW Catalyst Award: Coach Kenneth Blakeney and the Howard University Men’s Basketball Program
Common — the globally celebrated artist, actor, author, and advocate – presented the Catalyst Award to Coach Blakeney and the Howard University men’s basketball program for their work to highlight the Black maternal mortality crisis.
Each awardee spoke of their ongoing commitments to reproductive freedom, equal access to health care, and why, as Council Member Ivey said, we must “keep up the fight."
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Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC (PPMW) provides high-quality and affordable reproductive health care, promotes education programs that empower all individuals to make informed reproductive choices, and protects the right to make those choices. PPMW is the oldest and largest provider of family planning services in Metropolitan Washington, serving Washington, DC; Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Northern Virginia.