University of Michigan, having a ball

The University of Michigan’s ONE chapter has had some trouble this year navigating through the bureaucracy of our administration.After awhile we came to the realization that the larger scale projects we’d been hoping to implement were not going to happen any time soon. Instead of getting discouraged we tried to think outside the box and put together some fun, small actions that would get the ONE name out to students.

Since football is one of the greatest traditions here,we thought it would be a great place to start. With that, one of the favorite things students like to do at games here (and many other places) is blow up beach balls and send them flying throughout the crowd. Piggy-backing on this idea – we got together and spray painted beach balls all black and then painted the ONE logo in white on them. We did this at an awesome pre-game tailgate with our ONE members.

When we launched the balls in the air we got a lot of questions about what the logo meant and why we were doing it. It made for a fun picture and was definitely a great way to get the word out. Just because the administration or faculty are being difficult doesn’t mean there is nothing left to try – think outside the box a little and it can end up being the best action you take.

-Stephanie Parrish, University of Michigan ‘11

What’s Going On In Miami (Ohio)

The library at Miami University in Ohio was abuzz on Monday night, but not from studying. The buzz was a group of students meeting to discuss how to end global poverty. This past semester the student group has been incredibly active in making ONE’s presence known on Miami’s campus.

Led by students Megan Casey, Ashley Leonard and Amanda Beckham, ONE Miami has held several events on and off campus. This semester alone Miami students have held events at local bars and concert halls signing up new members. They also hosted the ONE Bus and collaborated with several other student organizations.

There is no doubt that other campuses can model Miami in starting an organization on their campus and quickly become active. Congratulations to all Miami ONE members on all the work you have done! Keep it up!

-Blake Waggoner

Mt. St. Joseph Academy Women Raise Awareness

Senior women of Mount St. Joseph Academy’s Class of 2009 spent part of their weekend doing something a bit atypical for high school seniors on a Saturday night: they gathered to raise awareness about global poverty and disease. Caroline Johnston, an active and passionate ONE member, organized the meeting as a project for her women’s senior seminar.

The gathering of these young women reminded me of similar meetings held all over the developing world by women, disproportionately affected by poverty, who organize to lift their communities from extreme poverty. It also seemed very fitting that the project took place in the town of New Hope, PA because Caroline’s generation represents just that in the fight against global poverty: new hope in the great human rights challenge of their time.

-Lauren Conn

Oxfam Screens New Film in Philly

Oxfam volunteers and ONE members gathered in downtown Philly on Friday to view “Sisters on the Planet,” a documentary about women in the developing world taking leadership roles to fight climate change. As the film producers put it: “climate change is already having a disproportionate impact on people in developing countries, and it’s hitting women hardest.” After the movie was over, those of us who attended conversation talked about successes and solutions in the film.

With our partner organizations’ grassroots forces behind us, we are continuing to build a growing network in all 50 states fighting for those living in extreme poverty.

-Lauren Conn

The Elections are over… now what?!

Libby Crimmings, as you may know is the ONE Campaign’s Regional Field Director in Iowa and Minnesota. She’s done fantastic work around ONE Vote ’08 this election season, and wanted to reflect and share a few thoughts with us:

I came into work yesterday and hardly knew what to do with myself. The unbelievable feeling that the elections are over finally sank in. It seems like the elections have been 90% of what I have thought and talked about for the past year and a half. Now what?! After the initial shock I realized this is only the end of one chapter and the beginning of another.

For almost two years thousands of ONE members have been attending almost every political rally, town hall, meet and greet, and other events such as straw polls or steak fries, raising awareness and asking the presidential candidates tough questions about their commitment to the world’s poor. I remember quite a few early events where members drove hours to a town hall event in a small town in Iowa, where it would be a presidential candidate, a pot of coffee and about 5 people. Those were early days where ONE members got a lot of face time with the candidates. Toward the end the events were huge rallies with thousands of people, less face time but more people to talk to about ONE! Somewhere along the line the candidates started wearing bands, recognizing ONE members, pointing them out in crowds, and sometimes letting them speak!

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Florida Shoutouts

In the months leading up to the election the south Florida ONE volunteers were very active in the community, reaching out to local universities and colleges as well as various political, religious and business leaders throughout the state to help keep the issues of extreme poverty a top priority during the election season.

I want to especially thank Paula Diaz, Alix Gordon, and Danielle DePas for their commitment to raising awareness about global health and poverty issues and for energizing others around them to get involved in our advocacy efforts. Paula, Alix and Danielle volunteered on countless nights and weekends and are the driving force behind Miami’s ONE Campaign.

ONE’s strong volunteer base in Florida enabled us to make a significant impact on the community, especially in these last three months leading up to the election. Thank you to each person that volunteered and partner organization that worked alongside us as we worked together to advocate for increased efforts to provide for basic needs like health, education, clean water and nutrition for the world’s poorest people.

-Sara Paterni

ONE in PA

With the election fast approaching (tomorrow!) Brian Sweeney wanted to reflect on some of the great accomplishments ONE volunteers and activists have achieved in the great state of Pennsylvania this election season.

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of our Pennsylvania ONE Volunteers for all of their hard work in helping to raise awareness for ONE’s initiatives! The ONE volunteers seen here with Congressman Tim Holden are Dan Donmoyer, Marie Smith, and Renee Allen. All three volunteers have been extremely active and have been very successful in energizing people around them to get involved with advocacy.

I also want to mention volunteers Abbey Fisher and Matt Schaeffer. Abbey does a lot of work with Jubilee USA and helps support ONE by attending as many events as she can. Matt Schaeffer is a senior at Lebanon Valley College where he has started a ONE Chapter and participates in our OCC program.

Thank you to all of our amazing Pennsylvania ONE volunteers who also participate by making phone calls and signing petitions to help the world’s most vulnerable! Many people are contributing in various ways and I simply cannot say enough or give enough praise to everyone who has given their time! THANK YOU ALL!

-Brian Sweeney/ONE Vote 08 Field Organizer

ONE in OH

Here’s a brief update on some of the exciting activity going on in Ohio

Candidates and campaigns are jockeying in the final days until Election Day to earn votes and get their message across. ONE is also working hard to get our message across to not only voters, but also to the candidates.

Over the past six months, Ohio has become ground zero for the presidential candidates. As the candidates have crisscrossed Ohio, ONE has been there, discussing the issues surrounding global poverty. In the week leading up to the election ONE has been to several McCain and Obama events, each time drawing the attention of the crowd, the media, campaign staff or even the candidate.

While ONE in Ohio will spend the next 48 hours making its presence known, ONE’s work does not end on Election Day. Just last week ONE delivered petitions to the state campaign offices pushing for whoever is elected to keep their promises of ending global poverty.

-Blake Waggoner

Developing the Bond with Senator Kit Bond

Several ONE volunteers from Webster University recently came to DC during their fall break to meet with their Senator’s office and discuss issues relating to extreme poverty. Nick Stevens writes:

Fall break. A time for catching up on your soaps and sleep, right? Not for me and three other Webster University students. We decided to trek halfway across the country to lobby for ONE in DC.

On Tuesday, October 21 ONE Webster members Sandra Lemenaite, Dirk Bokeloh, Michelle Overington and I met with Joshua Kremer at Senator Bond’s office next to the nation’s capitol.

We told Joshua about the importance of development aid as part of a national security strategy and thanked Senator Bond for voting in favor of PEPFAR. In May, I delivered more than 700 letters to Senator Bond’s St. Louis office asking him to support the PEPFAR Reauthorization. This legislation has helped to put more than two million African people on life-saving anti-retroviral drugs.

The meeting was the first time I had lobbied in DC. Our meetings in St. Louis were effective, but it was great to meet someone in Bond’s foreign policy department. I look forward to building the relationship from here and hope that ONE’s presence will inspire Senator Bond to co-sponsor poverty ending legislation in the future.

-Nick Stevens, ONE Webster President

Petition Drop-Off in PA

With less than a week before Election Day, ONE volunteer Dan Donmoyer and I joined volunteers across the country in dropping off petitions at various state offices. We stopped by both the Obama and McCain headquarters in Harrisburg, PA to help remind both presidential candidates of the commitments they made to help the world’s poorest people when they went On the Record with the ONE Campaign.

During these times of economic instability in both domestic and global markets, we must not forget about the world’s poorest people who are especially vulnerable during times of economic hardship. We should continue to support smart, affordable initiatives that are making a real difference for millions around the world.

This month over 68,832 ONE Members nationwide and 2,849 in Pennsylvania, signed a petition asking that:

As you work to find a solution to the global financial crisis, please do not waver in your support for the world’s poorest people. It is now more important than ever to stand up for effective, efficient solutions that save millions of lives, strengthen the global economy, and win the hearts and minds of people around the world. I’m keeping my commitment to fight global poverty, and I ask you to do the same.

Even when we face challenges here at home, we must continue to lead, work to strengthen America’s global reputation, and make our world a safer and better place.

-Brian Sweeney