As Election Day Nears, ONE Gets Fired Up

South Florida ONE volunteers were hot on the campaign trail yesterday, representing ONE at back-to-back rallies for Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama.

In the morning we went to the Everglades Lumberyard in Miami to hear Senator McCain speak. He was accompanied by fellow Republicans Governor Charlie Crist, Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart and Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Florida’s former Governor and current ONE Vote ’08 Co-Chair, Jeb Bush.

Just a few hours later Senators Obama and Biden held a campaign rally at the Bank Atlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale. Just when we thought we were not going to be able to get in, the security guards let us through and we found great seats just behind the stage.

With the election right around the corner, ONE volunteers are working harder than ever to maintain their strong presence on the campaign trail in Florida and to show the candidates that regardless of party affiliation, fighting global disease and extreme poverty must be a priority in the next administration.

-Sara Paterni

ONE Bus in Birmingham

We made it out to Samford University in Birmingham AL on Monday, October 27th. There were numerous volunteers that came out to the bus to help out by passing out literature and wristbands. Being parked in the circle, which was directly in front of the student center, made it almost impossible for the students to ignore us. Not to mention, pizza was served and as we all know is a huge hit, especially with the college crowds!

-Megan Schweizer

International UN Day in Seattle

After a week of meetings in Rome last week, Mark Brinkmoeller could have packed up and headed back home to DC. Instead, ONE’s Senior Director of US NGO Partnerships and Faith Relations spent a 24-hour travel day crossing the heartland to Seattle. We set a full schedule of events for him here, including meetings with faith groups, partner organizations, and even a concert. Still he never complained and the jetlag never showed. That is grace!

This year, International UN Day fell on Friday, October 24, and Mark was our keynote speaker. We wanted to hear how to engage the next administration, the next congress, and each other in order to lift the profile of the Millennium Development Goals. These are increasingly trying economic times and we feel far behind the curve. Mark embarked on a theme of hope. His interaction with the audience pointed the way. Measurements of progress are encouraging, and they open the doors to greater involvement. US funding has had a massive impact across Africa including TB/Malaria funding, antiretroviral treatment for AIDS, bed nets, and putting children in school. Through the grassroots activism of organizations that have made this a priority, millions of lives are saved and federal aid dollars over the course of this administration have morphed from Millions of dollars to Billions of dollars.

Saturday’s meetings included a relation-building coffee with leaders in the Seattle Islamic community. Mark’s knowledge and experience with Islamic organizations were extremely helpful. A new Islamic Faith-In-Action forum here in Seattle this winter will likely include the ONE Islamic Faith/ONE Sadaqa materials, and we shared the ONE multi-faith videos with them to use as well.

That night, the folk group “Real Folk” put on a benefit concert for ONE and RESULTS. Mark’s message of hope again resounded loud-and-clear encouraging us in our efforts to keep up the good fight in the north county. It’s gratifying to know that we are being heard and making a difference.

These events were also opportunities for the communities to take a photo with the traveling Jubilee USA Drop the Debt banner and sign up to ask the next administration to cancel the odious debts of highly-indebted poor countries.

Up here in Seattle, the group “Puget Sound Millennium Goals Project” couldn’t appreciate Mark’s support and encouragement more. Thank you Mark for an amazing week here, for promoting the great work of ONE and ONE Faith in the pacific northwest, and for helping Washington DC and this “other” Washington, um, “stay close!”

-Sammi Fredenburg

Investing In Women- A New Fact Sheet

Last week, when Bono spoke at the California Women’s Conference, he passed along some of the startling stats (listed below) about women in Africa.

• Nearly two-thirds of adults with HIV in Africa are women young women (age 15 to 24) in South Africa accounted for around 90% of new HIV infections in 2007.
• In Africa, the likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth is 1 in 20 (compared to 1 in 2,800 in the US).
• Although up to 80% of farmers in the developing world are women, they own less than 15% of land worldwide.

You can find more facts about women in Africa, as well as inspiring facts (like the one below) about the benefits of investing in women in the developing world, in this new fact sheet.

“Investing in women is considered smart economic policy because it can often yield higher economic returns than investing in men. Providing an extra one year of education beyond the average boosts earnings by 10-20%, compared to 5-15% for males. Increasing the share of women with a secondary education by one percentage point boosts annual per capita income by 0.3% on average. A study in Kenya found that agricultural yields could be raised by as much as 20% simply by reallocating existing agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer, education) more equally between men and women.”

-Virginia Simmons

At the CA Women’s Conference

As you know, Bono spoke at the California Women’s Conference this past Wednesday. One volunteer Amy Quinn was in the audience, and had this to share:

I was one of the lucky 14,000 women to have attended the Women’s Conference in Long Beach last Wednesday. I left the conference with a renewed sense of purpose, which quite frankly, I desperately needed when I arrived at the conference that morning.

In particular, I was moved by Bono’s recollection of his experiences back in the mid 80’s - on his visit to Ethiopia during the horrible famine that occurred there. This is also when my “world vision or Weltanschauung” changed, and I, at the ripe old age of 14 - became a hunger/poverty activist. As Bono said - the flames of that continent sting your eyes - they sear your conscience… He said, “In my travels I have met kids the mirror image own and looked into their faces as they let go of life. And it makes me even angrier that their eyes are always free of accusation. It humbles me beyond belief that they don’t hold it against a world that couldn’t spare the twenty cent immunization that would have them back in the bosom of their family. Even their mothers and fathers…their grief is pure. There’s no blame, just acquiescence…”

As the mother of a six year old little boy - it was easy for me to substitute my son’s eyes for this image.

(more…)

PA ONE Day Reaches Mount Saint Joseph Academy

Last Thursday, “Pennsylvania ONE Day” spread to the community of Mount Saint Joseph Academy. It was not long until over one hundred Mount students swarmed to sign the ONE Declaration, showing their support for their ONE state. White bands and pamphlets were distributed, and as a result there are ONE posters hanging in classrooms and hallways. The Mount girls showed their support by wearing their ONE T-shirts and continue to wear their bands.

ONE volunteers don’t just reach out to college campuses, but also to local high schools, where their response to this cause is both inspiring and remarkable. Every signature we add to the ONE Declaration brings us one step closer to eliminating the poverty that affects so many.

-Caroline Johnston

Making an Impact in Pennsylvania

The Center for U.S. Global Engagement continued its Impact ’08 in Pennsylvania effort with a panel discussion on the global challenges facing the next president featuring former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. The panel was moderated by CNN Special Correspondent Frank Sesno. The program also included remarks by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, University of Pennsylvania President Dr. Amy Gutmann, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, and former Navy Secretary John Lehman.

ONE volunteer Amanda Waldman was fortunate enough to attend the event and shared some comments with me afterwards. She said that Rubin discussed at length the importance of utilizing SMART power instead of hard or soft power, meaning that in order for the world to recover from the very serious global recession, diplomats and world leaders need to find a balance between diplomacy, development, and defense.

-Brian Sweeney, ONE Vote 08 Field Organizer

VIDEO: Bono Speaks at CA Women’s Conference

As we previously reported, Bono spoke at the 2008 California Women’s Conference last night. We’ve compiled the full footage of his speech, split into 5 parts, below. Enjoy!

PS- In his speech, Bono refers to a petition organized by the ONE Campaign to hold both presidential candidates accountable in the fight to end extreme poverty. Please sign here.

Full speech, Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

-Chris Scott

Things are looking up in Northland

On Sunday, ONE had the pleasure of being invited to bring the ONE bus to Northland Church in Orlando, Florida. Northland is an Evangelical Church in the Orlando community of Longwood. Since the church has 10,000 members this was a huge stop for us. The ONE bus pulled up to Northland Church at 8:00 on Sunday morning greeted by Sarah Mattingly, who helped ONE to get the bus approved at Northland. We would like to especially thank her for spending the day with us outside speaking to people. During all three services the praise pastor fully endorsed ONE and asked the attendees of each service to go out to learn more.

We were able to sign up over 700 new ONE members. After the last service, ONE staff was asked to stay and speak to the 100 + college-age group. We jumped at the opportunity and while I spoke about ONE, Sara Paterni worked the crowd getting as many volunteers as possible to sign up and answer any questions. ONE made a great partner and lots of new friends. We look forward to working closely with Northland in the near future.

-Jedidiah Hall, FL ONE Field Organizer

Bono to Speak at Women’s Conference

Bono will be speaking tonight at the WE Empower Women’s Conference in California at approximately 6 pm PST (9pm EST). Maria Shriver is hosting the event which features speakers such as Condoleeza Rice, Madeline Albright, Jennifer Lopez, and more. You can watch a live webcast of the event here.

WE Empower’s website describes the conference thusly:

Under the leadership of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver, The Women’s Conference has grown from a small government initiative for working professionals into a far-reaching organization, a life-changing experience, and an international network of women from all walks of life, backgrounds and perspectives.

The Women’s Conference event is the largest and most dynamic gathering of women in the nation. Recognized for its unparalleled capacity to empower and inspire women to become architects of change, the annual conference unites more than sixty internationally-acclaimed leaders and visionaries with 14,000 women in one arena, plus thousands more virtually, to share enriching stories of transformation and success, words of encouragement and life lessons.

-Chris Scott