WASHINGTON , Sept. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 and prominent award winners, such as 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 — i.
