ONE’s Marine Michael Castaldo got a hot tip that Mayor Rudy Giuliani was going to make an appearance at Chowerfest in New Castle, NH and sent me this amazing email:

“Well it was a hot one and for a chowder fest and that does not bode well. Since I was early, I put myself to use and helped set out the cold drinks and get the tables ready for the chowder. When it was time to serve the chowder I was the one ladling it out of the massive pots into the chaffing dishes for service by the proud chefs.

In between I went around saying hello to the many guests that had assembled, and making sure the host’s family, and the Rudy staffers were banded. I found myself as usual at these events bumping into a few other former marines and as is also usual, we ended up congregated in a corner, and this time we talked about the ONE Campaign. Each marine in turn told his version of why extreme poverty and its eradication was the key to national security. Each of them would gladly re-up and serve alongside the other – you could see it in their eyes…

Moments later the wives, standing along side each other, shook their heads in agreement and almost in unison said “that’s what you are always saying honey”. Then one former marine said “Africa is the key” – I swear it was not me. He had never heard of the ONE campaign before.

As for the mayor – I was able to thank him for the comments he made during his speech on international affairs recently. I told him “I think you have taken a page out of the ONE Campaign’s play book” – he smiled broadly and said “The ONE Campaign has it right”. He then was kind enough to pose for a picture accepting a ONE band…”

The fight against global disease and global extreme poverty is not an easy job – but with the help of ONE’s Marine Michael, and all 2.4 million ONE members, we can save millions of lives around the world by lending our talents and voice to ONE Vote ‘08. This is our chance to make poverty history.

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

Sen. Edwards held a rally Sunday morning at the steps of the Manchester, NH, City Hall. While the rain held off, ONE members came out to show support for the world’s poorest people.

Before the event, I found Deb in a ONE Vote ‘08 shirt that she received when she attended the YearlyKos event in Chicago earlier this month. We spoke briefly about ONE Vote ‘08 and after the event I talked with her husband Doug about how ONE Vote ‘08 is a bi-partisan movement of Americans that want our country to better focus on the global AIDS pandemic and extreme global poverty, even noting Sen. Frist and Sen. Daschle as our co-chairs.

Like so many events, there were many many ONE members in the audience and everywhere you look you could see ONE bands…even on one prominent NH blogger.

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Volunteers often worry that getting a city or state to make a proclamation can be really tough, but sometimes you just have to ask.

For example, consider the City of ONE proclamation issued by Corvallis, Oregon. ONE Campaign group leader, Chester Bateman, works with a organization at Oregon State University called The Grassroots Learning Project, which uses internet innovations (such as podcasting) to engage communities in learning. The Mayor of the City of Corvallis, Oregon (population 53,900) is also part of the Grassroots Learning Project.

In the context of “making a difference at the grassroots level”, Chester shared the story of the ONE Campaign and a short time later, with the Mayor’s help, Corvallis became a City of ONE.

City of ONE/State of ONE is a national effort that encourages localities to proclaim their dedication to addressing the global emergency of extreme poverty and preventable disease. To date, 10 States and over 110 Cities have issued the ONE proclamation.

Below, see the video of Chester’s comments at the announcement of Corvallis, Oregon’s City of ONE proclamation.

[In photo at top, left to right, Levi, Chester and Mayor Charles Tomlinson]

Saturday morning was beautiful in Concord, NH so ONE member Todd – who attended our ONE Vote ‘08 office opening – and I went to a local diner to see Gov. Romney’s son, Craig, and the Mitt Mobile.

Craig Romney and his wife Mary spoke with a few NH voters and I was able to talk with them while they ate breakfast with a few staffers and their son Parker Mitt. I thanked Craig for his dad’s recent comments about reaching out to Africa with medical diplomacy and technology. Craig immediately recognized the ONE Campaign and told me about the ONE tent that was at the Iowa state fair.

I am sure the Mitt Mobile will be back in New Hampshire and will undoubtedly see many more ONE members out on the trail who believe we can beat global poverty and preventable disease.

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

On Friday, ONE member Keith Spano traveled to Peterborough, NH, to see Gov. Richardson. Keith has been a ONE member for a while and always makes sure to call Congress during ONE action alerts.

In a black ONE Vote ‘08 shirt and white ONE band, Keith made sure Gov. Richardson saw him and recognized his shirt.

All over New Hampshire, and across America – ONE members are taking to the campaign trail to make sure the bottom billion people in the world are not forgotten in the 2008 presidential campaign. ONE Vote ‘08 will ensure that the next President of the United States is a global leader in the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa.

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

The steamy August weather didn’t stop 86 Miamians from showing up for the ONE Campaign Miami “Re-Launch” event last Friday.

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This is an abridge legislative update — it is August recess after all.

The Farm Bill – The U.S. Congress has an unique moment to reform the Farm Bill this year to help small farmers in America and in developing countries.

Updates:

- Last week, Speaker Pelosi said on camera that she has “always wanted” a tougher limit on farm subsidies (a payment limit so wealthy farmers don’t continue to receive a government check) than the one included in the House-passed farm bill.

- The Senate Farm Bill will likely to be marked-up in committee during the third week of September and the Senate’s support for a tougher payment limit is growing – Obama, Durbin, Brown, Dorgan, Grassley have all come out publicly supporting a stronger cap.

The Millennium Challenge Account – A U.S. government program that rewards countries that do right by their citizens through long-term, larger than typical grants. Beyond working as an incentive against corruption, the process is additionally unique because it is transparent and citizen led.

Update:

-The list of signatories is growing. Republicans: Senators John Sununu, Norm Coleman, Johnny Isakson, Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, Gordon Smith, Richard Burr, John Warner and David Vitter. Democrats: Senators Christopher Dodd, Russ Feingold, Joe Lieberman and Sheldon Whitehouse

Sen. Hillary Clinton was in New Hampshire yesterday so ONE Vote ‘08 caught up with her at a small local bookstore in Warner, NH.

Because there were so many people that showed up to see Hillary, we set up behind the lines so when Hillary came out she would definitely hear from ONE members. We waited patiently and noticed that Hillary was traveling with her NH campaign co-chairs, Judge Bill Shaheen, and NH Speaker of the House Terie Norelli – both have pledged their support as NH ONE Ambassadors.

When Hillary came out of the bookstore there was a mad rush of people to speak with her and shake hands. I could not get close to the senator but ONE member Lindsay, decked out in her ONE Vote ‘08 shirt, was able to thank her for the Education for All Act that she introduced with Sen. Smith, and if passed EFA would help enroll millions of children in the developing world into basic primary education.

Hillary immediately lit up to Lindsay’s comment, thanked her and told the crowd how the EFA is one of her top priorities. Hillary then looked around and I was able to stand on my tip toes and give her the thumbs up and thank her for her efforts on behalf of the bottom billion in the world. Hillary thanked me and all of the members of the ONE Campaign for our efforts.

By staying informed with the ONE Campaign, we have the ability to articulate the change we want to see in the world. From Sammi in Seattle, WA – to Lindsay in NH, and all of the ONE members across the nation – we can use our voice to make sure our country is doing all we can to help end the suffering of millions of people around the world, and finally make poverty history.

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

The volunteers in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin are at it again! The latest issue of the ONEwsletter for the Midwest, finished earlier this month, features an article on the Farm Bill; ideas on speaking with your children on the issues of extreme poverty; tips for your ONE group; an introduction to ONE VOTE ‘08; as well as stories about what volunteers have been doing throughout the region.

You can download the entire newsletter here.

-Annisa Wanat, ONE Regional Organizer

Years ago, I lost my newborn son to an infection for want of a readily available antibiotic. No child should suffer this fate. Yet, every year, nearly 10 million children under the age of 5 die from completely preventable causes.

It doesn’t have to be like this. We have the power to save these children’s lives.

There is a bill in Congress right now that would provide some of the much needed money to save these children, but it’s currently at a standstill. In order to move, the bill desperately needs the political support that ONE members like you and me can bring to bear.

Please send a message to your member of Congress to support the U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act and build support for this desperately needed life-saving bill.

These children die from a variety of causes, from pneumonia to malnutrition and diarrhea. For us, diarrhea is a nuisance. For a child in the developing world, it is a death sentence. In 2007 it is estimated that 1.8 million children will die from dehydration due to diarrhea. In many cases, all that it takes to re-hydrate these children to save their lives is a handful of sugar, a bottle of clean water, and a pinch of salt.

Sadly, there is one more ingredient needed to save these children: the will to do it. The Global Child Survival Act is an expression of that will. It would dramatically scale up funding for effective and affordable child and maternal health programs and it would require the government to develop a comprehensive plan for improving children’s health around the world.

Please write both your senators and representative and let them know that you want them to do their part and help move this bill forward.

Right now while Congress is in recess, some of us have been going on lobbying visits to our local congressional offices, and talking about the Global Child Survival Act. That’s been a great step forward, but we all can do more. If you send a message now, you’ll drive home the message we have been delivering in person, so that when Congress reconvenes in September, the Global Child Survival Act will be high on the list of priorities.

Thank you. I can’t tell you how much your support means to me.

Stay close,

Sammi, Seattle, WA, ONE member