Announcing Young Progressives Demanding Action

Progressive Democrats of America, (PDA), is honored to announce a new partnership with progressive college leaders called Young Progressives Demanding Action, (YPDA). The new organization is already organizing new chapters on campuses throughout the country. Student leaders who powerfully supported Bernie Sanders agree with PDA that our political revolution has just begun. Together we will reclaim our democracy.

Please contribute $500, $50, or whatever you can right now to help us launch YPDA! Interested in learning more? See the YPDA Facebook page. Money tight? Then contact Mike “Phone Guy” Fox to make important movement-building and Get Out the Vote (GOTV) calls.

Young Progressive Activists Launch
New Campus-Based Organization

Please support YPDA: contribute $500, $50, or whatever you can afford right now

PDA's work to engage students and younger voters political advocacy takes a major step forward with the launch of YDPA chapters on college campuses in Hawaii, Ohio, California, Massachusetts, Vermont, Illinois, Alabama, and New York. Active student leaders contacted PDA to suggest an alliance after the People's Summit last June in Chicago, Illinois. Get involved at the YPDA Facebook page.

Over our 12-year history, PDA has organized to achieve progress on important issues and has supported effective progressive candidates for Congress. In 2013, we launched the Run Bernie Run campaign to draft Bernie Sanders to run as a Democrat for the presidency because of his leadership on the issues we've long supported. In May 2014, we presented Bernie with 10,000s of signatures urging him to run, and then worked tirelessly organizing volunteers and holding events in nearly every state.

Now, we're welcoming Ian Schiffer, Elizabeth Lee, Morgan Johnson, and other student leaders to our PDA family. They've worked with College Students for Bernie and we met with them while planning the People's Summit, which was held in Chicago, where several organizations and more than 3,000 Bernie Sanders supporters gathered to plan and share ideas last June.

While people were thinking about how to capture the attention of younger Bernie Sanders supporters, the young people were way ahead of us in finding their own path forward. We're grateful that they've decided to work with PDA. Please contribute $500, $50, or whatever you can right now to help support this new effort. Money tight? Then contact Mike “Phone Guy” Fox to make important movement-building and Get Out the Vote (GOTV) calls. Sign up for updates at the YPDA Facebook page.

Ian Schiffer, one of the YDPA student leaders, defines the organization's mission as follows, "Young Progressives Demanding Action is building a permanent progressive movement on college campuses, fighting for justice at the local, state, and congressional level in 2016 and beyond. We believe in 'Justice or Bust,' by which we mean racial justice, social justice, environmental justice, economic justice, criminal justice, and electoral justice. We're working to foster conversations to ensure that this movement is inclusive and intersectional in nature, and built upon reciprocal learning of all progressives."

He adds, "We advocate for Student-centered progressive policy initiatives to unite the young progressive movement. We are already engaged in organizing for The People’s Budget, the Movement for Black Lives, a Path to Citizenship, as well as eliminating debt and promoting equality in higher education. We seek to achieve progress through coalition building and community organizing around issues--not parties, personalities, or candidates."

YPDA is currently planning fall outreach on dozens of college campuses, and they already have commitments from other student leaders to launch new chapters. If you're interested in helping please pitch in whatever you can afford right now. If you want to get involved, please sign up at the YPDA Facebook page, or contact us, and we'll pass your information along to YPDA.

In Solidarity,

Donna Smith for Mike H, Judy, Mike F, Janis, Deb, Dan, and Kimberly—your PDA National Team

P.S. We're here to help you make progress in your state and locality! If you need any help organizing a new PDA chapter or energizing your existing chapter, please contact PDA Field Coordinator Judy Hess. For those who haven't met her yet, you will find Judy is a smart, friendly, and supportive person who can help empower you. She can get you access to progressive DVDs to show, help you post your meetings and events onto the PDA calendar, and otherwise help your chapter thrive! Don't delay, start organizing now to make a real difference where you live! We're here to help!