Blog Contributor:
Nick Stevens
Oct 17th, 2011 3:38 PM UTC
By Nick Stevens
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It is sad that the David Crowder*Band is on their final tour. Not only because I really like the David Crowder*Band, but because their fans really like ONE. Armed with iPads that lit up the dark floor of Denver’s Ogden Theater, ONE leaders Megan Marsh, Joe Marsh, Valerie Bobalek and I signed up several hundred new members on Friday.
We received very few no’s from the Crowder fans and the only reason we didn’t sign up more new members was because of the limited amount of time we had.
While all good things must come to an end, I am excited to see some many new ONE memberships begin. Farewell David Crowder*Band. Welcome to the team fellow ONE members!
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May 24th, 2011 1:30 PM UTC
By Nick Stevens
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As Denver’s Mile High Stadium packed in tens of thousands of U2 fans to kickoff the USA U2 360˚ tour on Saturday, 30 ONE Colorado teammates armed only with iPads recruited more than 3,400 new members.
Volunteering at a U2 show with ONE is easily one of the most exciting events I’ve experienced. This show, however, stood above the other two I’ve participated in. Over the past few months ONE Colorado has been building teams in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs and elsewhere in the state.
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Oct 19th, 2010 9:31 AM UTC
By Nick Stevens
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ONE is hitting the campaign trail to find out where candidates stand on extreme poverty. Stay tuned for more updates like these from our field team and organizers on the road.
While on the ONE Vote campaign trail, I’ve learned that there is nothing more important than positioning yourself strategically on the rope line so you can catch a candidate as they come offstage. Unfortunately, it’s not always that simple because being one of the few individuals that actually shakes the candidate’s hand in a room full of thousands of people is statistically speaking, well, difficult. I encountered one such scenario last night at a rally for Senator Bennet featuring former President Bill Clinton.
There were 12 ONE members at the rally, so it was easy for us to split up and cover multiple parts of the rope line. Jeb Barrett and his sister were the first ONE members to grab Senator Bennet and President Clinton as they came off stage. Jeb gave both of them ONE bands before they continued down the line shaking hands. In the middle, ONE volunteer CDL Valerie Bobalek thanked President Clinton for his recovery work in Haiti following the earthquake. “It just breaks your heart, doesn’t it?” he said.
Finally, as Senator Bennet began to head backstage, ONE members Ismay and Kyrzia Parker grabbed him for one last picture. They also banded his wife Susan Daggett and his daughter. Ismay asked the Senator to continue to support ONE.org and the fight against poverty. Senator Bennet complimented ONE and our efforts as he made his way off stage.
President Clinton, who had pointed directly at Kyrzia’s ONE sign and gave two thumbs up as he went onstage, gladly posed for a picture with her on his way backstage. In his speech, President Clinton talked about the importance of cheap AIDS drugs for developing nations and his experiences in places where people live on less than $2 each day.
I was proud to watch ONE volunteers as their passion drove them through a crowd of thousands of people to the front of the rope lines in an effort to advocate for the world’s poorest people. They succeeded not once, but three times.
Be sure to connect with other ONE Vote 2010 Colorado members on Facebook and Twitter.
-Nick Stevens, ONE Vote 2010 State Organizer, Colorado
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Sep 20th, 2010 2:37 PM UTC
By Nick Stevens
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ONE is hitting the campaign trail to find out where candidates stand on extreme poverty. Stay tuned for more updates like these from our field team and organizers on the road.
 Last Thursday, ONE Vote held a training and Lazarus Effect screening in Colorado Springs to highlight the life-saving antiretroviral treatments that are helping millions suffering with HIV/AIDS in Africa. The documentary struck a chord with ONE members who were visibly moved, and wanted to learn how they could work with ONE Vote to encourage continued American leadership in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease in the world’s poorest places.
The very next day, Congressional District Leader Megan Marsh took what she had learned, and turned it into action for ONE, at a Senate debate in Colorado Springs between Democratic Senator Michael Bennet and Republican Ken Buck. We arrived early, grabbed seats in the third row, and afterward, we caught up with both Ken Buck and Michael Bennet! Both candidates immediately recognized ONE, and were excited to see ONE Vote out on the trail again, continuing its advocacy on behalf of the world’s poorest people!
-Nick Stevens, ONE Vote 2010 Colorado State Organizer
Be sure to connect with other ONE Vote 2010 Colorado members on Facebook and Twitter.
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Jul 23rd, 2010 1:17 PM UTC
By Nick Stevens
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 This morning, Colorado US Senate Candidate, Jane Norton, held a campaign event with former US Senator Rick Santorum. I attended to make sure that ONE and the world’s poorest people were not forgotten here in the Mile High City.
When I got there in my ONE shirt, I was instantly recognized by Jane Norton and had a chance to speak with her about ONE and our efforts to encourage bold and brave US leadership to fight global poverty and preventable disease in Africa. After our conversation, unannounced to me, she started her remarks to the crowd off by recognizing ONE and asked that I speak to the crowd about ONE!
I briefly addressed the group and explained what ONE was and how one of the best ways for the US to help fight AIDS, malaria, and TB is through the Global Fund. I then explained how Senator Santorum was a true champion for the world’s poorest people, and while in the Senate he would often work across party lines in order to make sure that the Global Fund had the right amount of funding in order to help save millions of lives. The crowd applauded Senator Santorum’s efforts to help the Global Fund and help get life saving pills out to over 5 million Africans, building a safer and more stable world for us at home and for those in the poorest nations on Earth.
 After the event ended, I had a chance to personally thank Senator Santorum for his efforts to help the least among us, and even had a chance to tell him the good news that our sister organization (RED) made a documentary called The Lazarus Effect which details how cheap US investments in the Global Fund can bring people from brink of death, back to a full, healthy, and productive life that allows for them to work and provide for themselves and their families. These recent success stories are in a large part due to the historic and heroic efforts of elected leaders – Democrats and Republicans alike – like Senator Santorum, who have ensured that the US leads the way in the fight against global AIDS.
The US Senate race is heating up, but as ONE members, we know that we can use our voices in order to ensure that the next class of US Senators continue the great bi-partisan work of saving lives in the poorest nations on Earth.
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Jul 15th, 2010 1:56 PM UTC
By Nick Stevens
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 Here in Colorado, ONE has been catching up with all of the Senate candidates from bother parties, as part of ONE Vote 2010. Last night I spoke with Andrew Romanoff at a house party in Denver.
After addressing the crowd, Romanoff immediatley recognized my ONE shirt and came over, and even before I could get out the ONE bands, he extended his arm for one. As an ambassador for our OVE Vote 08 effort, Romanoff is already familiar with our efforts to unite and urge our leaders to take urgent action to help fight preventable dieases like AIDS and malaria, and combatt hunger, strarvation and extreme poverty.
I spoke with Romanoff about the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria and how the Global Fund it is proven and accountable tool that has already saved millions of lives in Africa. I went on to tell him about how our sister organization (RED) partnered with HBO to make a doccumentary called The Lazarus Effect to show how 40 cent-a-day pills are saving lives in Africa.
ONE Vote 2010 is just beginning, but its clear that politicians on both sides of the aisle, and throughout the country, are recognizing the importance of fighting poverty just as they did during ONE Vote 08. In 2010, we know how to fight preventable diseases and extreme poverty, we know how to build off the sucess of the past few years and continue our efforts to save millions of lives – all of this is possible, but it starts with you and it starts with your voice!
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Jul 15th, 2010 9:51 AM UTC
By Nick Stevens
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Written with Michael Hidalgo:
On Sunday, the world stood still for 120 minutes to watch Spain play the Netherlands as each team attempted to do something neither had ever accomplished…win the World Cup. It is estimated that more than 700,000,000 people tuned in to watch the match. At least 2,000 of those were gathered in the streets outside British Bulldog in Denver.
The British Bulldog, well known for its philanthropic spirit, spotlighted ONE and Ten Thousand Nets at its World Cup Final Match Watch Party, which served as the launch for ONE Vote 2010 in Colorado. ONE Vote 2010 is reaching out to Senate candidates, both Republicans and Democrats, in an effort to engage them on ONE’s issues.
More than 150 people signed up as new ONE members and others donated money for malaria bednets to Ten Thousand Nets. Denver Channel 31 put ONE on camera. During half-time, Malaria Griot Michael Hidalgo from Ten Thousand Nets addressed the crowd in his ONE t-shirt. As if cheering for the World Cup, the crowd was excited when he told them that they could save a life for the cost of a $10 bed net. In front of thousands he announced the launch of ONE Vote 2010.
The Ten Thousand Nets campaign is Denver’s campaign to fight malaria. Malaria is a killer that, during the time the World Cup was played, claimed an estimated 75,000 lives. Ten Thousand Nets and ONE are committed to seeing that number drop to zero. Those at the party were invited to give $10 towards a lifesaving bednet by texting ‘DENVER’ to 85944. Local artist Jessica Wright donated proceeds of her World Cup themed paintings to purchase life-saving bednets through Ten Thousand Nets.
Thank you to the British Bulldog for hosting such an exciting event and letting us be part of it!
-Michael Hidalgo, Malaria Griot and Nick Stevens, ONE Vote 2010 Colorado State Field Organizer
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