Des Moines Registers the fight against poverty

Mar 4th, 2010 9:55 AM UTC
By Chris Scott

Megan Pederson, a 2007 Roosevelt High School graduate and a junior at Iowa State University, recently attended the ONE Campus Challenge Power 100 which we hosted here in Washington, DC. The Des Moines Register has a nice write-up today about the event.

Excerpt below:

The students went to Washington to hear speakers and to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress. They got to talk to Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa and his staff, among others, Pederson said.

Pederson talked to Grassley’s staff about extending the official development assistance category within the federal budget, specifically increasing HIV-AIDS vaccinations and helping additional children in developing nations to attend school.

“After lobby day, I felt so empowered,” she said. “I felt I could come out to Washington and lobby all the time. Some people came up to us and congratulated us. It felt like we were actually being heard.”

The group was in Washington from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, when President Barack Obama revealed his $3.8 trillion budget for 2011.

Every year, the ONE Campaign hosts the ONE Campus Challenge, a friendly competition among universities across the U.S. to determine which school’s student body has the most effective global poverty-fighting campaign. Students earn points by participating in activities and events, some serious, others lighthearted. Schools earning the most points are eligible for the lobbying trip to Washington.

TAGS: From ONE Members, Iowa, ONE Campus Challenge