Beth talks to Gov. Christie as he puts on a ONE band

Last Friday, I attended a GOP rally in Lebanon, Ohio with appearances by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. I had the chance to talk and give a ONE band to Gov. Pawlenty, who immediately recognized my shirt and shook my hand. I told him “I know you’ve seen us out on the trail before,” and he said he has seen ONE across the country, and said we are doing great work!

Then, I spoke with Gov. Christie, who also knew about ONE and went on to compliment our efforts, too. I even spotted two staffers wearing ONE bands, and one of them told me he hasn’t taken his ONE band off in two years!

Saturday and Sunday, three ONE members and I attended a couple of events with Congressman and Minority Leader of the House, John Boehner. We were able to catch up with him on Sunday and told him how President Bush was historic in starting programs like PEPFAR and supporting the Global Fund. We told him that we hope that he will continue leadership on ONE’s critical life-saving issues. He told us that he was very familiar with ONE and took a ONE band from us!

Tomorrow is Election Day! Be sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter for frequent updates.

-Beth Kaltenbach, ONE Vote 2010 Organizer, Ohio

As the clock ticks closer to Election Day, ONE member Barb Barrar was out on the trail engaging US Senate candidates all weekend! On Saturday, Barb attended a rally for Pennsylvania Senate candidate Rep. Joe Sestak, featuring President Obama. While she wasn’t able to catch the President, she did speak with the congressman and reminded him of the work ONE is doing to fight extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries.

Barb with Rep. Sestak

Barb has seen Rep. Sestak quite a few times in the last two weeks, so it was no surprise for him to see her yet again raising awareness and advocating for the world’s poorest people.

Barb also spoke with Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter and discussed ONE’s initial launch in Philadelphia in 2004. She also made sure to thank the mayor for declaring the City of Brotherly Love a ONE City.

Barb wasn’t finished after she spoke with Mayor Nutter. She quickly traveled to another rally for Pennsylvania Senate candidate Pat Toomey. In their brief engagement, she emphasized the importance of continued US bipartisan leadership that has now saved more than 5 million lives in some of the poorest places on earth. She also spoke about how in the past few years, our nation has responded to widespread disease and extreme poverty in Africa with historic and heroic life-saving programs that are now showing real results in terms of lives saved on the ground. Mr. Toomey talked with Barb about programs that demonstrate accountability and good governance.

Way to make your voice heard this weekend, Barb!

Please visit our Mid-Atlantic Region Facebook group and follow me on Twitter.

On Thursday afternoon, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell traveled to the Derryfield Country Club in Manchester, N.H., to campaign for John Stephen, who is running for governor of New Hampshire.

We had a moment with Gov. Barbour before the event. He saw ONE the last time he was in New Hampshire and also spoke with Jordan, a ONE member, the day before in Iowa.

He said that he was given a white ONE band and he gladly accepted another one from me. We chatted about how PEPFAR was started under President George Bush and how John McCain has always been a great friend to ONE members along the campaign trail.

After the event, we caught up with Gov. McDonnell, who said he had heard of other Republican governors supporting ONE. He said he looked forward to spending more time on the campaign trail learning about the work that we are doing. He took a ONE band, posed for a picture, and noted that the fight against extreme poverty is an issue that conservatives have supported.

Unexpectedly, US Senate candidate Kelly Ayotte stopped by the event to say hello and we had a chance to thank her for going “On the Record” with ONE, an effort to illustrate how important it is for Americans to care about global poverty. The 2010 elections are just around the corner and politicians from all over the country are traveling to the Granite State and meeting ONE members at every stop along the way!

Be sure to connect with other ONE Vote 2010 New Hampshire members on Facebook and Twitter.

-Matthew Flanders, ONE Vote 2010 state organizer, New Hampshire

Whether you live in NorCal or SoCal, or identify yourself as a progressive or conservative, the facts remain the same. In less than a decade, support for the Global Fund has helped save 5.7 million lives, while 2.7 million lives have been spared from HIV/AIDS because of the U.S. initiative known as the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

We are witnessing countries become more stable and children attending school for the first time. These unprecedented results are no coincidence. Courageous California ONE members are at the very heart of this advocacy and leadership. So today, we want to share Senator Barbara Boxer and challenger Carly Fiorina’s “On the Record” statements with ONE, where they share how they would continue tackling global disease, poverty and hunger moving into 2011.

Here was our question for the Senate candidates:

Q: ONE’s vision for Africa is rooted in a moral and humanitarian desire to help the most vulnerable people, a recognition that building economic opportunities abroad creates opportunities at home, and a strategic understanding that our national security is intertwined with the stability of poor countries across the globe. Through bipartisan cooperation in Washington, the U.S. has been a leader in helping provide millions of Africans with life-saving medicine, children with the chance to go to school, and women with the tools to feed their families, while investing in sustainable economic growth and tackling corruption to ensure scarce resources are used as intended.

How best can the US continue to tackle global disease, poverty, and hunger?

And here are their responses:

Senator Barbara Boxer: “I strongly believe that alleviating global disease, poverty and hunger is inextricably linked to making real progress in the world. Throughout my career, I have fought for women’s rights. And now I am proud to chair the first-ever Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee focused on improving the status of women and girls worldwide.

Studies have shown that when women and girls have opportunities they will make important contributions to their country’s economic and social progress. According to the World Bank, women and girls reinvest 90 percent of their income in their families, whereas men reinvest 30 to 40 percent. Educating women and girls is one of the most powerful development tools we have.

That is why I am so pleased that the United States has taken the lead in making the advancement of women a central element of its foreign policy. For example in April, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched the Secretary’s International Fund for Women and Girls—a partnership between the public and private sectors aimed at providing resources to those who are working to meet women’s needs worldwide.

The U.S. is not alone in recognizing that the status of women and girls is critical to uplifting a society. In July, the United Nations established U.N. Women—a new U.N. entity that is working to advance women’s rights around the globe.

We must continue to work with our international partners to give women and girls every opportunity to succeed because when women thrive, their societies thrive.

Carly Fiorina: Under bipartisan leadership, our country launched and supported the most aggressive global HIV/AIDS program in the history of the disease, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has prevented the spread of HIV, contributed to saving the lives of millions around the world, and represented the values and character of the American people.

Additionally efforts to end deaths from tuberculosis, malaria, and hunger, and also assisting in basic schooling for girls have yielded unquantifiable results that will forever alter the lives of generations to come with greater opportunity. Undeniably our global health efforts has created and fostered a more stable and secure world for those living in extreme poverty.

Yet in order to truly tackle global disease, poverty, and hunger, U.S. aid alone is not enough. There is an important role for other nations, private industry and individuals to play in this as well. We need to encourage good corporate citizenship, particularly among those doing business in Africa. Educating Americans about both the problems and solutions they can be part of is also part of addressing these issues in the long term. And, we need to ask our allies in the world to partner with us in these efforts.

On November 3rd, ONE Californians will be there to help our senator lead the nation in addressing preventable disease, extreme poverty and hunger around the world. Be sure to connect with other ONE members in the Western Region on Facebook and follow me on Twitter for updates of our work around the state, region and nation.

Just like ONE Vote ’08, we asked candidates to make time for the ten thousand New Hampshire ONE members, and the world’s poorest people, and answer our 2010 ONE Vote question:

ONE’s vision for Africa is rooted in a moral and humanitarian desire to help the most vulnerable people, a recognition that building economic opportunities abroad creates opportunities at home, and a strategic understanding that our national security is intertwined with the stability of poor countries across the globe. Through bipartisan cooperation in Washington, the US has been a leader in helping provide millions of Africans with life-saving medicine, children with the chance to go to school, and women with the tools to feed their families, while investing in sustainable economic growth and tackling corruption to ensure scarce resources are used as intended.

How best can the US continue to tackle global disease, poverty, and hunger?

Here is what each one of them told ONE:

Kelly Ayotte (R)

Paul Hodes (D)

We would like to thank both Kelly Ayotte, Paul Hodes, their campaign staffs and all of the ONE members who used their voices to help make this happen. We are proud of American efforts to save lives in the poorest nations on earth, and encourage continued leadership in the Senate, no matter who wins in November.

But we are not done yet, ONE members will continue to be in action across New Hampshire as we continue to advocate for life saving policies and programs for the world’s poorest people. Help us keep the pressure up over the next 11 days by joining Team New Hampshire: http://www.one.org/us/actnow/vote2010/state/join.html?state=newhampshire

And be sure to connect with other ONE Vote 2010 New Hampshire members on Facebook and Twitter.

- Matthew Flanders, ONE Vote 2010 state organizer, New Hampshire

ONE members posing with a Pres. Clinton.

Last night, 15 ONE members and I attended a rally for U.S. Senate candidate Lee Fisher, who was joined by special guest, former President Bill Clinton.

We all had our “ONE Vote 2010” shirts on and took up an entire row in the middle of the 600-seat auditorium.

Everyone was full of energy and excited to hear Pres. Clinton speak. He briefly mentioned Haiti in his speech which focused mainly on the economy.

After the event, we were able to catch up with Pres. Clinton, give him a ONE band and thank him for his efforts in helping Haiti rebuild. We were actually the only ones he agreed to take pictures with! Unfortunately, we weren’t able to meet Senate candidate Fisher, but we’re sure he saw our shirts in the crowd.

Our OHIO ONE members are definitely energized after last night and looking forward to going to more campaign events in the coming weeks.

Be sure to connect with other ONE Vote 2010 Ohio members on Facebook and Twitter.

- Beth Kaltenbach, ONE Vote 2010 organizer, Ohio

Beth and Gov. Huckabee

This morning, I was able to catch up with Gov. Mike Huckabee at a luncheon for U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman in Mason, Ohio. I told Gov. Huckabee about our efforts in Ohio with ONE Vote 2010.

I also thanked him for his support for ONE and for being a champion of ending extreme poverty. As a former presidential candidate, Huckabee participated in “On the Record” during ONE Vote 2008 and traveled to Rwanda with ONE. He told me how thrilled he was to be a part of the trip with ONE, how he wishes us the best of luck, and thanked us for all that we do.

Be sure to connect with other ONE Vote 2010 Ohio members on Facebook and Twitter.

-Beth Kaltenbach, ONE Vote 2010 Organizer, Ohio

We’ve got some amazing people on the team, including Center for American Progress President John Podesta, former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

Check out our official press release for more details, and be sure to stop by the ONE Vote 2010 site to see what the excitement is all about!

President Obama speaking in Parma, OH

ONE Members with Senator Sherrod Brown

Last week, ONE members woke up at the crack of dawn to attend President Obama’s speech to a large crowd in Parma, Ohio at Cuyahoga Community College. The 5 AM wake-up call was well worth the second row seats right in front of the president!

Pres. Obama had a clear view of our ONE T-shirts, as did the surrounding audience. One audience member from Australia approached us to thank ONE for our efforts to raise awareness around the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.

Though we didn’t give the president a ONE band, we did have a minute with Democratic Senate candidate and Lt. Governor Lee Fisher and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, (D-Ohio). We also thanked Sen. Sherrod Brown, (D-Ohio), for his advocacy on behalf of the world’s poorest and for supporting efforts to preserve the international affairs budget, which funds ONE’s priorities.

Ohio already has more than 45,000 ONE members — and ONE Vote hopes to sign up more out on the campaign trail! If you’re from Ohio, join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Live in Ohio and want to join in on the action? Get updates from our Ohio Facebook and Twitter.

- Beth Kaltenbach, ONE Vote 2010 organizer, Ohio

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.

You could feel the excitement in the air as fans anxiously waited in line to see Maroon 5 perform live in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The band stopped off at the historic Murat Theater to promote their upcoming album “Hands All Over,” and was gracious enough to invite ONE to tag along.

ONE volunteers handing out goodies and signing up new members

Maroon 5 keyboardist Jesse Carmichael greeting ONE supporters in the audience

The volunteers and I set up a table in the lobby so we could talk to people about ONE Vote 2010’s efforts to provide food, clean water and lifesaving vaccines to the world’s poorest.

We handed out more than 400 ONE T-shirts, bands, buttons and pamphlets, and signed up 180 new supporters to join ONE in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease.

In addition to a great turnout and strong fan support, our successful event was made even sweeter — we got a chance to hang out with the band.

When we spoke with the guys -– including lead singer Adam Levine –- we introduced them to ONE Vote’s issues, thanked them for their support and presented them with ONE bands.

With more than 24,000 ONE members in Indiana, the Hoosier State is leading the bipartisan grassroots effort to help those living on less than $1.25 a day.

Be sure to connect with other ONE Vote 2010 Indiana members on Facebook and Twitter.

- Maddison Klontz, ONE state organizer, Indiana