The Best Holiday Gift of All? Client Wins in 2023
As 2023 draws to a close, we’re getting all nostalgic thinking about our clients and everything we’ve accomplished together in the past year.
That’s because nothing gets us in the holiday spirit quite like seeing our clients win big – and our clients did a lot of winning in 2023. So let’s take a look at just a few of our clients’ accomplishments this past year:
Ballot PA: The effort to repeal Pennsylvania’s closed primary elections enjoyed unprecedented success in 2023, culminating in the advancement of HB 976 & HB 979 out of the House State Government Committee in October – the first time that an open primaries bill has ever cleared committee in the PA House. Meanwhile, the effort was endorsed by 26 news outlets across the state, brought students from across PA to rally in the Capitol, earned an endorsement from five former Pennsylvania Governors, and testified at a hearing where Steelers legend and decorated Vietnam veteran Rocky Bleier highlighted why the issue is critical to many, many vets who register as independent.
Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research: A National Sports Brain Bank, a Women’s Concussion Health Study, four new grantees, and $15 million additional dollars leveraged for grantees: these are just some of the exciting developments in 2023 for the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research. The foundation issues grants to early-stage, innovative research on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of brain injuries. And in 2023, it did more to advance its vision – diminishing the impact of sports related head injuries – than ever before.
Friendship Circle of Pittsburgh: It was a big year for Friendship Circle, a beloved nonprofit that creates connection, inclusion, and community for Pittsburgh youth and adults of all abilities. In the spring, Denny Civic Solutions worked with the Friendship Circle team as they launched The Beacon, an all-new community space in Squirrel Hill focused on teen mental health as a critical part of overall well being. Then in November, we partnered again to provide earned and social media support for the launch of Bunny Bakes, a coffee shop and bakery with a unique social mission: to build a more inclusive community while providing career skills and employment for youth and adults of all abilities.
Jefferson Regional Foundation: Over the summer, our DCS team worked with the Foundation on a complete communications audit, a messaging evaluation, and multiple in-person sessions to examine how JRF communicates the work it and its partners do every day in their communities. The work culminated in a brand-new Communications Plan, delivered in September, which provided recommendations and actionable items JRF will implement as it celebrates its 10-year anniversary – and enters its second decade of service.
Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank: After years of work, we finally achieved our goal in 2023: SB500 was passed through both the PA House and Senate! Now it's signed into law as Act 32, thanks to Governor Josh Shapiro. This life-saving legislation will ensure Pasteurized Human Donor Milk gets to all of PA’s vulnerable babies, to provide unparalleled protection against lifelong health complications, lengthy hospital stays, medical procedures, hospital readmissions, and the myriad of other health issues these tiny infants can face. We’re extremely proud to have worked with the amazing staff at the milk bank, alongside Strategic Partners Donna Malpezzi and Stephanie Watkins on this awesome success.
#PANeedsTeachers: This coalition to address PA’s teacher shortage crisis has had quite the year as well. Starting with the publication of the Addressing Pennsylvania’s Teacher Shortage Crisis Through Systemic Solutions report in February, the coalition has swelled to nearly two dozen organizations and counting – along with 80+ individual supporters. Alongside our partners at Teach Plus PA and NCEE, #PNT held its first lobby day in July, holding 70+ meetings with legislators and sending nearly 7,000 additional messages in support of its policy priorities. To top it off, we hosted a Solutions Summit to highlight district-wide programs already in place across the Commonwealth that address systemic issues with teacher recruitment and retention. Now, just before the legislature wrapped for the session, two #PNT priorities made it across the finish line: student teacher stipends and data collection in SB 843 (signed into law as Act 35) and HB 301 (Act 33), respectively.
Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners (PCNP): It was an incredibly busy year for our friends at PCNP, starting with the reintroduction of SB 25 to grant full practice authority to Pennsylvania’s nurse practitioners. We worked with the PCNP team to gather cosponsors, build momentum, and educate legislators and the general public about how full practice authority increases patients’ access to quality health care. In May, we helped coordinate a hybrid (in-person + virtual) lobby day that rallied NPs and patient advocates from across the state. Then in October, we joined PCNP, their legislative champions, and healthcare professionals at the Capitol to announce the introduction of House companion full practice authority legislation.
Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health (PCOH): As summer came to an end, we worked with PCOH on a communications audit, messaging evaluation, lots of research, and several in-person deep dives on the coalition and the issue of community water fluoridation. Never have we learned so much about community water fluoridation (CWF), and the discourse and data surrounding it! The work resulted in a brand-new Advocacy and Communications Campaign Report, delivered in September, which gave recommendations and actionable items for shaping PCOH’s future campaign on CWF.
DCS Gives
Just as we encourage our friends and partners to give back at the end of the year, so too do we at Denny Civic Solutions. This year, we donated to the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research. Their work is funding research to better understand and change the way sports-related brain injuries are not only detected, but prevented and treated too. Consider joining us and make a donation to this vital organization this holiday season!
Another Way to Give This Season
Of course, if you’re a new parent and looking for another way to give this year, you could also consider donating milk to the Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank. This little organization located right here in Pittsburgh has a massive impact on the lives of inpatient and outpatient babies alike. Not only do they supply milk across all of Pennsylvania, but all of West Virginia and many hospitals in Delaware, Maryland, and Rhode Island too!
So, if you’re looking for a legen-dairy way to make a difference this year, contact the milk bank and learn more about the donation process here.