Keep Austin Weird might be the town’s unofficial motto, but I found Austin to be weird in a wonderful way. ONE rolled into town to participate in the 10th Anniversary of Austin City Limits. Even though it was the first time that ONE had a presence at the music festival, it felt like we’ve participated all ten years.
If you asked me a year ago today what I would be doing in 2011, my response would have been ramping up ONE engagement and membership in the Great Lakes States in the US. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I’d be traveling to New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and literally crisscrossing North America on behalf of ONE with the U2 360° Tour. 2010 to 2011 will definitely be a year that I’ll never forget.
The U2 360 Tour rolled into California last week and an awesome group of volunteers from the Bay Area came out to Oakland in support of ONE. Nearly 3,000 new ONE members joined the fight against extreme poverty. Here’s what a ONE volunteers Mike and Brian had to say….
ONE volunteer Brian says “we are just going crazy out here.”
The U2 360° Tour made a stop in La Plata, Argentina last week for three phenomenal shows and ONE Members came out in full force, braving the blazing sun and driving rain. Over the course of three concerts, 76 ONE members were able to sign up over 14,000 new ONE members in Argentina, all committed to the fight against extreme poverty.
Hitting the campaign trail on behalf of ONE Vote 2010, longtime ONE supporter Bob Bowers, also known as “Da Pirate,” had the chance to meet with Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold on Thursday. Bob is a 26-year thriving survivor of HIV/AIDS and is a well-respected educator and advocate.
Sen. Feingold was at Madison College for a student meet and greet. Madison College students and a few of Bob’s friends were on hand to thank Sen. Feingold for his continued support of ONE and his help in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease. Sen. Feingold enthusiastically put the ONE band on his wrist to show his support.
On Saturday I traveled out to Wheaton, IL to meet with a great group of long time supporters from DGAAN – the DuPage Glocal AIDS Action Network. DGAAN has been building passionate advocates in DuPage County, IL since 2002. Combining global and local, the term “glocal” symbolizes DGAAN’s awareness that the HIV pandemic needs to be addressed on both a local and global level. Saturday was the second annual World Day of Social Justice, providing a great reminder to everyone in attendance as to why we do what we do…the fight against poverty is not about charity, but about justice and equality.
Since it had been some time since a ONE representative met with DGAAN, I began by giving a brief re-introduction to ONE, explaining who we are and what we do. The remainder of my portion was focused on highlighting three initiatives ONE is focusing on in 2010, including the ONE Campus Challenge, Women ONE2ONE and ONE Sabbath. DGAAN is co-chaired by two women: Sr. Glenna Czachor, OSF, from the Justice, Peace & Integrity of Creation Office, Wheaton Franciscans and Dr. Sandra Joireman, Ph. D., Department of Politics and International Relations, Wheaton College. Needless to say, all three of these programs fit directly in with the work that DGAAN is already doing out in DuPage County.
A Policy Associate for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Pete Subkoviak, also presented at the meeting. Pete shared information on several legislative and advocacy initiatives here in Illinois as well as an update on the Illinois budget crisis and our state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). He also reminded everyone that the 2010 HIV/AIDS Lobby Days in Springfield, IL will be on March 16th and 17th.
Between ONE and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the meeting definitely represented what DGAAN is working to achieve — “a network of advocates that strengthen the lifelines of hope, locally and globally.”
I look forward to working closely with DGAAN and all the wonderfully passionate individuals involved with the group.
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.
On Saturday I traveled out to Wheaton, IL to meet with a great group of long time supporters from DGAAN – the DuPage Glocal AIDS Action Network. DGAAN has been building passionate advocates in DuPage County, IL since 2002. Combining global and local, the term “glocal” symbolizes DGAAN’s awareness that the HIV pandemic needs to be addressed on both a local and global level. Saturday was the second annual World Day of Social Justice, providing a great reminder to everyone in attendance as to why we do what we do…the fight against poverty is not about charity, but about justice and equality.
