Most days, ONE’s Steve Wilson and Chandler Smith alternate sending out updates on important global poverty news stories from the day. I don’t always get a chance to make posts for all the notable articles, so I wanted to share today’s round-up with our ONE Blog readers.
Finishing up a two-day meeting in Switzerland, Ban Ki-moon said the U.N. has a agreed on a series of measures to address food shortages in the medium and long term, and will establish a top-level task force to coordinate the response.
Spiraling food prices are hitting private charities and relief agencies, with some of the world’s largest aid providers, like World Vision and Care, warning they will soon be forced to slash programs on their existing budgets.
Raymond Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, writes in ‘The Hill’ today that the most urgent step America can take to respond to the food crisis is to change the way we deliver our food aid: allow food to be purchased where it is needed rather than ship it halfway around the world.
As Egypt, a key U.S. ally, responds to rising food prices and the resulting tensions within its population, it’s clear the crisis is about more than simply food: it’s about stability and global security as well.
ONE Saint Louis members experienced a heaping dose of coincidence yesterday. It just so happened that the one weekday our co-chair Bob McMullen had off of work that month was also Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day. It was also a convenient coincidence that Delmar Boulevard is home to both Senator Claire McCaskill’s office and Ben & Jerry’s. Luckily, Michele Sherod, who heads McCaskill’s St. Louis office, had half an hour free to meet with us that day to discuss legislation that will save millions of lives.
We discussed the Global Child Survival Act, the Global Poverty Act, the Education for All Act and the PEPFAR reauthorization. McCaskill has yet to co-sponsor any of these despite having supported the recent Jubilee Act and the International Affairs Budget allocations. Michele did not have any answers for us that day, but we agreed to follow up in two weeks.
To finish off the day, we hopped in line at Ben & Jerry’s to get a lick of the new ONE flavor. The line stretched out the door and around the block so I was relieved to find there was still some of the new ONE Cheesecake Brownie ice cream left. After I snapped a few pics of ONE gear in the shop an employee showed me their ONE Campaign manikin and posed for a pic with it. I wish we could have tabled there that day, but employees took care of that for us by handing out info and ONE bands with each cone of ONE Cheesecake Brownie. I realized the movement taking place here was no coincidence. Companies, customers and legislative staffers are all taking notice of the Campaign to Make Poverty History.
We don’t need a warm and sunny day in Seattle to enjoy a free ice cream cone and tell folks how they can help make poverty history. Crowds lined up at the Kirkland Ben & Jerry’s, in Kirkland, Washington, right across from downtown Seattle.
The lines were long at the tiny storefront facility; just enough room to keep the people moving in and out. Our table was set up right outside the door and a ONE member greeted everyone as they came in. Because Ben & Jerry’s posted info on how to join ONE via text, many were members before their free cone was in hand!
When the crowd thinned a little I snapped this picture of Seattle ONE volunteer Alicia greeting the front of the line (which extended down the block.)
Owners Jen Greene and Michele Sullivan and their fun staff made it a great event for all. They decked their shop out in an amazing Ben & Jerry’s ONE theme, and the hot chocolate was a real boost for us ONE volunteers. It was also a huge kick to see a sea of people enjoying their cones and wearing ONE stickers. That really made my day. We distributed many fresh ONE bands to the crowd and lots of people were really impressed with the Ben & Jerry’s / ONE and ONEVote 08 pamphlets we handed out.
Best of all, we had a great recruiting day. Lots of folks who had been looking for a good way to get more involved with ONE locally were excited to connect with our Seattle ONE group. A great day in the region. How sweet it is!
With an official new ONE ice flavor at Ben & Jerry’s, free cone day was a pretty big deal around here. Across the country, ONE staff and volunteers used the event to spread the word about the fight to end extreme poverty, sign up tons of new member – and okay- eat free ice cream.
Below, some great photos and a note from Matt Haber who organized a crew of volunteers down in South Florida.
Student leaders from the ONE chapter at Pines Charter School recruited volunteers and collected signatures for five hours after school at Ben Jerry’s for Free Cone Day. It was a great evening of fun, facts, and free ice cream as these hardworking kids spoke with entire families, young professionals, and even sailors in town for fleet week about extreme poverty across the world. There was a strong presence and a lot of interest in ONE by ice cream lovers.
This is a passionate bunch of young people who, along with their teacher Ms. De Pas, have built a high school ONE chapter with 150 members. You can check out more about these great kids on their chapter’s MySpace page.
Oxfam’s President Raymond C. Offenheiser wrote an important op-ed in today’s Hill on the world hunger crisis. In it he states:
“the most urgent thing we can do is reform food aid programs. President Bush’s move to release an additional $200 million in emergency aid is a good first step. What Congress needs to do now is reform food aid policies to allow for food to be purchased where it is needed rather than shipping it halfway around the world.
Americans are the most generous donors of food aid in the world, providing half of the world’s food aid. But Congress requires all food aid to be purchased from American farmers, even when it is available closer to where it is needed. Congress mandates that food aid be processed and bagged in the U.S., even when that is the costliest option. Congress mandates that most food aid be shipped on U.S.-flagged vessels, greatly adding to costs and delays. So for every dollar we spend on food aid, only 50 cents actually reaches the people in need.
You can now watch Alicia Keys’ new documentary about her trip to Africa with the group Keep a Child Alive. Below, a excerpt from the film and a note from Alicia.
Hey ONE members
Check out my journey to Africa where I met some of the most inspirational people I have ever met in my life. People who are struggling but still retain an immense dignity. What my journey told me is that we must all come together as a global family to make ARVs available to children as early as possible. It also taught me that the millions of children orphaned by AIDS must be our priority. And keeping moms alive is the answer. So join me, start a virus to end a virus, tell everyone you know to watch this film at aliciainafrica.com. And thank you for caring.
Vote here to send ONE super volunteer Michael Castaldo – or ONE’s Marine – to the 2008 presidential conventions to advocate for ONE. (If he wins, this group will send Michael to the Republican and Democratic conventions.)
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
We don’t need a warm and sunny day in Seattle to enjoy a free ice cream cone and tell folks how they can help make poverty history. Crowds lined up at the Kirkland 
