August 28th, 2008 at 11:08 am | posted by Chris.Scott
This Monday the 25th, volunteer Dan Donmoyer and I continued our August “crunch” to meet with our respective Congressman and Senators while they are in recess. Many members use the August congressional recess to host town halls and forums in their communities - so check out their websites for a schedule to meet up with yours. If you can go, wear a ONE T-shirt and use your voice for the world’s poorest people. These events are free and open to the public so it is a great opportunity to let your representatives in Congress know that you care about fighting extreme poverty and global disease.
Our third town hall meeting of this August’s recess was with Senator Arlen Specter. About 40-50 of his constituents came and spoke directly with the Senator about issues that are important to them.
During the meeting volunteer Dan Donmoyer made sure to thank Senator Specter for his support of the AIDS, TB and Malaria funding bill PEPFAR and asked him to do everything in his power to ensure that Congress exercises its oversight responsibilities with respect to PEPFAR, thoroughly and regularly. Senator Specter agreed that PEPFAR will “save millions of lives” and that he felt we as a country need a re-evaluation of these priorities which he said he would commit to if he becomes Chairman of Appropriations in 2010. According to Specter this process has never taken place over the course of his 28 year tenure.
All in all, this was a great experience and fantastic exposure for ONE as the meeting is being aired on PCN television.
August 28th, 2008 at 10:35 am | posted by Chris.Scott
On a recent Saturday night at the Echo in Los Angeles, Par Avion Band played in conjunction with a fashion show to help promote awareness of ONE’s ongoing campaign to fight poverty and preventable disease.
The fashion show, held by Beckie Lynn Productions, featured a number of upcoming Los Angeles models showcasing the work of local designers, and was hosted by Scarlett Cassanova, of L.A. club Hang the DJs.
The objective of the combined fashion /music event was to increase awareness of the ONE Campaign among L.A.’s immense audience of music enthusiasts. Paul Avion wore the ONE shirt on stage, and interested music-lovers from the Los Angeles area signed up to receive more information on ONE. The ONE portion of the event was coordinated by ONE’s SoCal Field Organizer Betsy Avila and ONE volunteers Nare Ovespian and Kyle McNeal.
Due to the success of the event, more fashion-music events in L.A. are in the works for fall!
August 27th, 2008 at 10:26 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Tonight at the DNCC the RIAA is hosting an event to celebrate ONE.
Kanye West will be playing and we’re expecting some very famous and influential people to attend.
ONE has been seeing a lot of national press because of the party and we’re hoping the event will help bring the issue of global poverty to the forefront of this convention.
August 27th, 2008 at 2:10 pm | posted by Chris.Scott
A little over a week ago, I went with a team of ONE volunteers and ONE staff member Brian Sweeney to meet with Congressman Tim Holden. He was very receptive and graciously listened as we introduce ourselves, talked about our passion for fighting for the world’s poorest people, and talked about ONE’s work in the presidential election. During the meeting, we made sure to thank him for his support of PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).
At the end, Congressman Holden signed the ONE Declaration and expressed an interest in becoming a PA ONE Honorary Ambassador. All in all, it was a very encouraging meeting.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:41 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Tons of people came and we finished all the kits in record time. We had 3 hours to assemble 1,500 kits - but it was all done in just one hour.
During that time, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle came by to help out, as did the band DAUGHTRY. We should have video of all that by tomorrow.
‘Til then, I’ll just have to apologize sheepishly for this very amateur camera-work. It does give you a sense of the atmosphere in the room.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:55 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
We’re at the service project. It kicked off with short speeches by ONE President and CEO David Lane and an incredible Zambian AIDS activist Princess Zulu.
Right now, volunteers are running off to prepare kits for AIDS caregivers around the world.
The kits include simple items like wash cloths, cotton balls, soap, petroleum jelly. The kinds of things we take for granted everyday in America. And the kinds of things that can literally save lives around the world. Each bag of cotton balls, for example, will be washed and re-used for months.
I’m attaching photos below. They include photos of the supplies, assembly lines and packing up. Note the ones of people writing notes, every kit includes a handwritten note from the volunteer who assembled it - to the caregiver who will receive it.
I’m taking a bunch of video now too, but have to wait until I have silghtly better Internet to upload them.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:38 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
I arrived at the location of our service project a few moments ago and immediately saw a giant display of pennies - formed in the shape of an AIDS ribbon. The pennies are a project by the non-profit Got Cents?
Todd, one of the group’s founders, told me that they started collecting the pennies after they heard a speech by the president of World Vision. Four years later they now have 6.1 million - the same as the number of people who have died of AIDS since the last presidential election.
To give a sense of the # of pennies 6.1 mllion is, Todd told me that if you stacked them on on top of each other, they’d stretch 6 miles.
He also told me that they usually use local banks to help supply the pennies when they go on location (out of the organization’s bank account) but that there aren’t 6.1 million pennies in the whole St. Paul/Minneapolis area - so they’ll have to drive these pennies to Minnesota for when they do this service project all over again at the RNCC next week
August 26th, 2008 at 4:26 pm | posted by Chris.Scott
Megan Wilson of Population Services International had a chance to attend the World Water Week Conference in Stockholm last week and was kind enough to share her thoughts and reflections on the event.
Almost one billion people lack access to a safe source for drinking water. Repercussions from this are deadly. Each year, about two million children around the world die from diarrheal disease due to unsafe water and hygiene practices, constituting about 17% of child deaths worldwide.
The 2008 World Water Week Conference was held August 17-22, 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden and brought together key decision makers, implementers, and advocates to raise awareness of the global water crisis and identify partnerships and actions that can be taken to address this life threatening problem.
My name is Megan Wilson and I am thrilled to be working to raise awareness of the water and hygiene needs of the poorest of the poor on behalf of Population Services International (PSI) here at World Water Week 2008.
The conference kicked off on August 17 with dignitaries from around the world highlighting the water and sanitation issues that plague millions worldwide. The speakers included Anders Berntell, Executive Director of Stockholm International Water Initiative, Marc Ravalomanana, President of Madagascar, Prince Willem Alexander, The Dutch Prince of Orange, and many others committed to this cause.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:46 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
A lot of people have come by to learn about ONE and sign up for the cause. Here’s a sampling of the foot traffic.
Below, a couple of alternate delegates from New Mexico came by. They said they’d be on the convention floor tomorrow and will be wearing their new ONE shirts.
Here, a set of 3 delegates from Nevada came by to pick up some ONE materials.
A couple more pics of visitors coming by.
And this one is my favorite. ONE staff and volunteers were busy, so our new Alternate-Delegate-from-New Mexico friends introduced these three newbies to ONE.
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The content of each post and each comment represent the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the ONE Campaign or ONE Action. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any posts expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
