Thirty electrified students at Andrew P. Hill High School in San Jose, CA are determined to see an end to extreme poverty and disease in their lifetime. Ms. Parker’s English class joined the ONE family this year as they decided to look outside themselves for their senior class project and adopt The ONE Campaign as their focal point. When I visited their school to help them get started, I was pleasantly surprised to hear about their progress and plan.

Teens Working as ONE, or Club TWO as they refer to themselves, presented a slide-show they’d prepared for an informational pot-luck. With family and friends as their audience, a fifteen minute presentation introduced members of their community to issues surrounding extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria. During our time together, we built on these conversations and brainstormed ideas to include their peers and surrounding community. Since my visit, I’ve learned Teens Working as ONE has organized themselves into smaller committees, ranging from events to public relations; they’ve set their own timetable of activities to accomplish through the remainder of the school year; and they have already started weekly tabling events in their community.

Equally as exciting is how the ONE Campus Challenge allows these graduating seniors to keep tabs on activities of the university or college they will attend. It also lays a path for them to continue their work with ONE next year. In the meantime, AWESOME job Club TWO! We look forward to hearing about your work in San Jose in the weeks ahead.

-Roscoe Mapps, CA Field Org