August 31st, 2008 at 3:42 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
An amazing email from a DNCC ONE Delegate Lori Macklin to ONE Vote ‘08 National Coordinator Erin Eagan.
Dear Erin,
Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in this week’s DNC as a ONE delegate - it was a blast!! My husband and I stopped by the ONE bus and participated in the ONE Service Project at Manual High School, where I got to meet David Lane and see Dana Buck, my old friend from World Vision. It felt so good to be a part of the caregiver kit project - Josh from Daughtry told me in the assembly line that it meant a lot to him to do something so meaningful.
At our morning delegation breakfast meeting on Wednesday, I spoke about ONE and distributed wrist bands to our entire WA State delegation. People were very interested, and I encouraged them to join the movement. There are a couple of photos attached of us wearing ONE gear at the convention, and a friend sent me this link to a photo from MSNBC, where I was hugging my fellow delegate, Moe Spencer, after Barack Obama was proclaimed the nominee by acclamation:
Thanks so much for all that you do, and for being at both the DNC and RNC - ONE’s issues should matter to all of us, and I’m so proud to be a part of the movement to eradicate global poverty and disease.
Greetings to Josh Peck and Jamie Drummond too!
Sincerely Yours,
Lori Macklin
Obama National Delegate
Washington State
August 29th, 2008 at 4:48 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Matt Higgginson was in charge of local ONE volunteers for the DNCC all week and did an amazing job if I do say so myself. I thought posting some of the pics from his camera might give you a sense of what he was up to all week.
Local volunteers Brooke and Dana working the ONE Bus.
Darren & Lindsey from Littleton, CO, working the service project.
ONE volunteer Joe Marsh is signing Delegates up as they wait for their credentials.
And one of many volunteers who walked the 16th St. Mall in Denver and signed up new members to ONE.
August 29th, 2008 at 4:21 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi just sent along this submission for us at the ONE Blog.
Greetings from the Democratic National Convention in Denver! I am excited to be here this week for the nomination of Barack Obama and Joe Biden to be the next President and Vice President of the United States. This week is the culmination of an historic race that has brought millions of voters to the polls - many voting for the first time.
The ONE Campaign knows firsthand about how to energize people for action. They are building a global movement, inspiring millions of people - both young and old - to raise awareness for the challenges facing Africa. We know that inside maneuvering cannot be successful without outside mobilization. The ONE Campaign is a model of effective mobilization to support the cause of ending extreme poverty and disease in the poorest countries of the world.
Young people all over the world are making their voices heard - through conversations, emails, and blogs - about their hopes for a brighter future - of their desire for peace and prosperity. They are weary of war, poverty, and disease. They are demanding a brighter future for themselves and all the citizens of the world. It is the impatience of youth that gives me hope.
Everywhere I travel, the call is clear: the world needs America to lead. We must reclaim our rightful place in the community of nations, with a sustainable foreign policy that reflects American values. We must have goals as ambitious as the risks we face. We must be at the forefront of the fight against the long-term conditions that breed poverty, disease, instability and environmental degradation.
The moral case is reason alone to act, but as we have seen in the cases of (more…)
August 28th, 2008 at 8:39 pm | posted by John Ryan
If you’re at Senator Obama’s acceptance speech or watching it from home, keep your eyes peeled for one of us sitting up front during the speech. Megan Kline, long time ONE member, has been selected out of the 70,000 people in attendance to sit in the “donut” in front of the podium. They’re moving people around but as of the last report, she’s sitting in the front row.
And like any proud ONE member, she’s wearing her ONE shirt!
So, keep an eye out for her and post a comment here if you see her.
Thanks Megan for making sure ONE is seen and thanks to all ONE members for making sure our issues are heard by so many in Washington and across the country.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:10 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
(UPDATED: I added video.)
Yesterday afternoon, I attended the National Democratic Institute’s global poverty panel at the DNCC. It was moderated by Gayle Smith, who’s a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
The speakers were:
Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State and NDI chairman Ben Affleck, actor, director, and advocate Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development John J. Danilovich, CEO of the Millennium Challenge Account Tom Daschle, former Senate Majority Leader and Co-Chair of ONE Vote ‘08 Hernando de Soto, president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, vice president of the Africa Region of the World Bank Donald Payne, U.S. representative Tim Wirth, former U.S. senator, and CEO of the United Nations Foundation James Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank.
Josh Lozman of our policy staff is going to be sending in a post about the panel a little later.
I also took a small camera with me and shot some simple video, so I’ll post a couple clips here to give you a sense of what it was like to be in the room. The 1st is of Senator Tom Daschle answering a question about his recent trip with ONE through Rwanda.
This second one is of Ben Affleck talking about his new perspective after having visited Africa- and what he thinks that new perspective means for how we should message effectively. After, President of the Center for Global Development Nancy Birdsall talks about the incredible progress we’ve seen.
August 27th, 2008 at 10:26 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Tonight at the DNCC the RIAA is hosting an event to celebrate ONE.
Kanye West will be playing and we’re expecting some very famous and influential people to attend.
ONE has been seeing a lot of national press because of the party and we’re hoping the event will help bring the issue of global poverty to the forefront of this convention.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:55 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
We’re at the service project. It kicked off with short speeches by ONE President and CEO David Lane and an incredible Zambian AIDS activist Princess Zulu.
Right now, volunteers are running off to prepare kits for AIDS caregivers around the world.
The kits include simple items like wash cloths, cotton balls, soap, petroleum jelly. The kinds of things we take for granted everyday in America. And the kinds of things that can literally save lives around the world. Each bag of cotton balls, for example, will be washed and re-used for months.
I’m attaching photos below. They include photos of the supplies, assembly lines and packing up. Note the ones of people writing notes, every kit includes a handwritten note from the volunteer who assembled it - to the caregiver who will receive it.
I’m taking a bunch of video now too, but have to wait until I have silghtly better Internet to upload them.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:46 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
A lot of people have come by to learn about ONE and sign up for the cause. Here’s a sampling of the foot traffic.
Below, a couple of alternate delegates from New Mexico came by. They said they’d be on the convention floor tomorrow and will be wearing their new ONE shirts.
Here, a set of 3 delegates from Nevada came by to pick up some ONE materials.
A couple more pics of visitors coming by.
And this one is my favorite. ONE staff and volunteers were busy, so our new Alternate-Delegate-from-New Mexico friends introduced these three newbies to ONE.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:30 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
The delegates, volunteers and brand new ONE members are pouring by our ONE Bus in Denver.
I managed to catch some of it on camera. First I’ll profile 3 of our volunteers: Erika, Monica and Allie.
Erika (below) and I chatted for a bit. She told me that she first heard about ONE 2 years ago from an email - and has been a big supporter ever since. This is the first time she’s been able to volunteer in-person - I’m excited to see more of her around the convention.
Monica is also a local volunteer. Here she is getting ready to head out to the 16th St. Mall in Denver to spread the word about ONE. Yesterday, she walked the “delegate-credentialing” line and signed up new ONE delegates for us. She was even able to get to hand some ONE lit and a ONE band to New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin.
And local volunteer Allie also came by and was kind enough to pose for me by our bus.
The ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, volunteers, members and coalition partners.
The content of each post and each comment represent the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the ONE Campaign or ONE Action. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any posts expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
