Every week is big for Living Liberally. With 250+ chapters, no week goes by without guest speakers, candidates and advocates, without special events and new promotions.
But this is a particularly big week -- not only because of what we're doing but who we're doing it with.
This Thursday is the Living Liberally Annual Celebration: a gathering of the tribe, a critical fundraiser, a big old party. This raises most of the funds that support our shoe-string budget for our national programming -- and it does it with an open bar, sustainable food shindig that's a staple of the progressive calendar.
This year, the party takes on special significance with our honorees: the New Organizing Institute and New York State Attorney Eric Schneiderman.
NOI is best known for the Roots Camps they organize to allow organizers to learn from each other. They are also running the Candidate Project, an effort to get more progressives to run for local office and run better campaigns. And they host intensive New Media Boot Camps to train a generation of organizers.
I have had the pleasure of being a Senior Fellow at NOI this year, and to see their dedicated team and the impressive breadth of their work up close -- which is why it's especially exciting to honor them on Thursday and make sure our whole community knows what they do.
Our second honoree hardly needs an introduction: Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been a friend of Living Liberally, a guest at our fundraisers, an inspiration to our community for years. We enthusiastically collaborated when he was in the State Senate, and are impressed by all he's tackling as Attorney General. From a cover story in the American Prospect to the announcement he'll be keynoting at Netroots Nation, the progressive world is recognizing what we know: AG Schneiderman is one of us.
Joining us in honoring these two progressive champions are a host of terrific partners led by 1199 SEIU, Advomatic, the AFL-CIO, DailyKos, Democrats.com, MoveOn.org, Netroots Nation, Berger Hirschberg Strategies and Blue State Digital.
The list goes on and on from new organizations like Upworthy and We The People to old friends like the Alliance for Justice and Blue State Coffee. We'll be joined by elected officials and candidates including Borough President Scott Stringer, Council Members Tish James and Brad Lander, Democratic Leaders Debra Cooper and Marc Landis and candidate Helen Rosenthal.
And the organizations that have contributed in other ways is legion: DCTV, The Nation, Mother Jones, the American Prospect, Rudy's Bar, Building On Bond, Bluecoat Gin, Six Point Crafy Ales, Jimmy's No. 43, Bitters Old Men, Three Knights Media, The Job Party, Manhattan Young Democrats, New Kings Democrats, Organizing 2.0, Democracy for NYC, Greater NYC for Change and Mobile Meteor for building our PDA-friendly site.
Wow. That was a mouthful.
Together, these allies are creating a great party. They are helping us create a great organization, which can contribute to the important work of the progressive movement.
So join us on Thursday. Thank them in person. Honor NOI and Eric Schneiderman. Support Living Liberally.
And while you're at it, Drink Liberally and Eat Liberally with our host committee of Katrina Lynne Baker, Josh Bolotsky, Mary Bruch, Lily Fan, Michael Freedman-Schnapp, Stephanie Elaine Hunt, Jen Johnson, Ben Kallos, Mike Klein, Justin Krebs, Elana Levin, Nicole Lindenbaum, Matthew O'Neill, Taylor Pineiro, Gregory Rae, Matt Rosenberg, Peter Rothberg, Brian Sonenstein, Jennifer Suh, Shaunna Thomas, Kerry Trueman, Alex Urevick-Acklesberg, Harry Waisbren, Aaron Welch, Ben Yee.
See you down the road.