The Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement (PYPM) has been helping the youth of Philadelphia discover the power of their voices through spoken word & literary expression since 2006. This week CNN profiled the Knight Arts grantee, following the story of  19-year-old Alana Gooden, who credits PYPM with saving her life: “If PYPM didn’t exist, Gooden said she and her fellow members might not be where there are right now. ‘We wouldn’t be performing, we wouldn’t be promoting positive change, we would be out there with them downtown, flash mobbing, running around, fighting, cursing, getting arrested, shooting, dying,’ she said.”

Click here to read more about Gooden and the ongoing impact of the Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement and to hear the stories from the youths themselves. The Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement received a $40,000 grant as part of the first Knight Arts Philly Challenge to establish a permanent gathering space, click here to help them raise the funds to match their grant.