An incredible group of ONE volunteers came out to the U2 Phoenix concert on Tuesday night and signed up two thousand new members. Just as impressive are their different backgrounds and the stories of how they got involved with ONE. These are a few of them.

Sarah Atwill (on the right) is a sophomore at Arizona State University and a Campus Outreach Ambassador for the ONE Campus Challenge (OCC) making her responsible for working with OCC chapters in Arizona, New Mexico, Louisiana, Hawaii and Alaska. At Arizona State, her chapter has already banded University President Michael Crow and is coming after mascot Sparky next. Sarah has big plans and told me that she’s committed to turning 60,000 Sun Devils into a powerful force in the fight against global poverty.

Kelly Hatzel (on the left) is a student at South Mountain Community College where she looks forward to starting an OCC chapter and getting more involved with ONE. Kelly believes Arizonans need more ways to engage on the big global issues of our time. To that end, she thinks we can all make a difference, from wherever we are, and is excited to bring ONE not only her to campus, but to the larger community as well.

Hassan Shariff is an old pro at volunteering with ONE at concerts. He was already a ONE members when he volunteered with us at the Dave Matthews Band concert in Phoenix in 2006. Hassan is also active in the local artistic community, helping to promote the fight against global poverty through the First Friday events in Phoenix. In addition to his work with ONE, Hassan is active with WHEAT – World Hunger Education, Advocacy & Training.

Cami, Ryan and their 13 year-old son Bryce MacDonald were great volunteers with an amazing story to share. Five months ago, Ryan flew to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC is one of the poorest countries on earth, still ensnared in war that causes untold suffering everyday. But Ryan’s trip was also filled with great joy, because he went to Kinshasa to adopt two children, Solange and Joseph, an 8 year-old and 6 year-old orphaned brother and sister.

Malnourished then, the pair have made a full recovery and are “doing great” adapting to their new lives, according to Cami. Still, she describes the heartache of hearing Solange, who watched her parents die of preventable diseases, ask “Why are all the doctors here in America?” Her simple question is a poignant reminder of the importance of our ongoing work advocating for greater health care infrastructure and capacity in the developing world.

Cami also shared a much sadder story with me. In the picture, you can see that she’s wearing a button with the picture of a baby girl on it. That girl is Cassie, also an orphan in the DRC, and she was in the process of being adopted by friends of the MacDonald’s, when she died of malaria at an orphanage in Kinshasa.  Fortunately, they’re on their way to adopting another baby girl, Chloe,

For the MacDonald’s, working with ONE is a way of teaching Bryce, that as wonderful as his new brother and sister are doing here, there is much more work to be done if we’re going to beat global poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.

We’re so grateful for all the hard work and inspiring stories ONE members are sharing with us on tour. If you’re planning on going to the Las Vegas, Los Angeles or Vancouver shows, make sure to look for the ONE booth and say hi to our great volunteers.

-Aaron Banks