An Amizade 30 Recap: Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us!

On Saturday, September 14th, around 250 incredible people joined us to celebrate 30 years of Amizade and the bright future of AllPeopleBeHappy in an unforgettable, nostalgia-fueled evening.

We were lucky to be surrounded by friends, family, partner organizations, and dedicated supporters— not only from Pittsburgh and across the US, but from at least 19 countries around the world! That number includes our site directors and community partners, who joined us from 10 countries and 12 different program sites. We cherished the time together and loved welcoming these dear friends and colleagues to the city of Pittsburgh.

One group, in particular, made the festivities special: 10 young people from Puerto Rico, who spent the week serving and learning in Pittsburgh as part of our 2nd annual Puerto Rican Youth Exchange program, became the life of the party on Saturday night as well as soon as the DJ got started.

Guests wholeheartedly embraced the evening’s theme and dressed to impress in some creative 90s outfits featuring frosted tips, denim vests, purple zebra print pants, and hot pink platform sandals, which left us convinced that 90s fashion should never go out of style.

There was never a dull moment with live Bossa Nova and Capoeira performances, a photo booth complete with 90s props, and the greatest 90s hits playing all night long.

Amizade’s founder Dan Weiss and executive director Brandon Blache-Cohen inspired us with their heartfelt speeches, and we welcomed five new inductees into the Amizade Hall of Fame: Jes Friedrichs, Monica Frohlander-Ulf, Brother Ronald Hein, the Tang Family (Sunny, Barbara, and Eric), and Geli Weiss. It was an honor to formally recognize the important contributions of each of these individuals to the organization’s rich history. None of the work of the new AllPeopleBeHappy today would be possible without them!

Thank you to everyone who made this event and the whole anniversary weekend a success! Fortunately, we planned a weekend filled with events to make the most of our time together. On Friday, we had the opportunity to host a workshop with our site directors and community partners to discuss building a better world through collaborative projects and global experiences. We ended the weekend feeling inspired, energized, and eager to see what the future holds.

The momentum generated by this celebration shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, so if you haven’t already, join the movement and stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to get involved!

If you missed the celebration — or you can’t stop thinking about how much fun you had — it’s not too late to show your support! Your donation contributes to the momentum of our new organization, funds collaborative community projects, and creates transformational opportunities for young people from around the world.

Thank you to our sponsors!