For all of you living in California, this is just a quick reminder that the California ONE Membership Conference is taking place this Saturday. The conference is set to feature workshops, experts from ONE and other poverty-fighting groups, and much more. Please plan to join us!

Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP here. Details below:

What: California ONE Membership Conference
Where: Mission Bay Conference Center, 1675 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA 94158
When: Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 10 AM to 2 PM

Two weeks ago I met then California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi. I had read about the peace mission he led during the Ethiopian Eritrea war 1998-2000, but during our conversation we discussed his family’s work with the peace corps early in his adult life. He and his wife Patti began their marriage serving together in southeastern Ethiopia, and Patti served as Assistant Director of the U.S. Peace Corps. As of last Tuesday Lieutenant Garamendi was elected the newest U.S. Congressman from Northern California.

What I’ll remember most about meeting him was the sincerity and connection I felt when with him while talking about global poverty. He asked me to come visit him if elected, and he made me promise to remind him about what needs to be done regarding global poverty. In his own words Congressman Garamendi once stated:

America should be the world’s advocate in promoting human rights throughout the world. Even a minor increase in our foreign aid could have a profound impact in regions of the world suffering from starvation and disease. We know that extremism and violence thrives in the poorest regions of the world, so this is really a national security issue too.

Representative Garamendi will be serving California’s 10th district, and of course we have a “few” ONE members out there who are anxious to meet with their newest member of Congress. Special thanks to ONE Member Brian Webster for his work in making this meeting happen.

For all you Californians out there, we’re happy to announce the California ONE Membership Conference. It’s set to take place on Saturday, November 21 in San Francisco and will feature workshops, experts from ONE and other poverty-fighting groups, and lots of opportunities to meet other ONE members and learn how to be an even more effective advocate for the world’s most vulnerable people.

Space is limited, so be sure to RSVP here. Details below:

What: California ONE Membership Conference
Where: Mission Bay Conference Center, 1675 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA 94158
When: Saturday, November 21, 2009 from 10 AM to 2 PM

I have come to believe that great change can happen through one conversation. I have sat through endless lectures, seminars, and conferences throughout my education. But I can look back on my journey and realize that a conversation with one friend or complete stranger has left just as much of an imprint on my life. A few years back I went to a concert with my brother and best friend, and met a girl about my age with a clipboard. For the first time, I heard about the ONE campaign. She talked to us about global poverty and great despair. She left with our signature, and we were left with the responsibility that always comes with awareness. I have followed the ONE campaign through emails and have anticipated the time to work more closely with this organization.

That time came when I helped a friend put on a TOMS Shoes, Style Your Sole Event. I was first introduced to TOMS Shoes when I walked into a boutique in Orange County, CA. The simplicity and creativity of the shoe caught my eye, and the sales associate noticed. She spent the time to talk to me be about their ONE for ONE vision. She was left with a sale, and I again was left with the growing awareness and the excitement to pursue this cause further. Since then, I have organized events for TOMS with the most recent event in Whittier, California where we invited ONE to speak to others as they once spoke to me a couple years back. Invisible Children, Not for Sale, and Krochet Kids International also joined the event to advocate on behalf of others.

I have spent time talking to my friends, realizing that sometimes it takes just one conversation to alter someone’s worldview and their course of action. I believe we did that together this past weekend. I hope we continue to find ways to spread the message to others in the future.

-Dianna Grobstein, ONE Member Pasadena

This past weekend the NAACP state conference was held in Manhattan Beach. Celebrating its 100 year anniversary of ensuring social equality for African Americans and all who have faced social injustices, the NAACP pressed forward with an exciting theme: “Reflections of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” Founded in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed to social justice, the National Associate for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation’s largest and strongest civil rights organization. Today the NAACP is a network of more than 2,200 affiliates covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Japan and Germany. The California State NAACP boasts 72 branches and youth units mobilized across the state to help ensure racial justice and equality.

Zephanii Smith, NAACP Youth and College Division President, invited ONE to contribute to their “CODE RED” program targeting young adults. The program featured organizations speaking to young Americans about local and global HIV/Aids. A group called “Positive Secrets” highlighted the event with a series of skits, written and directed by Melanie Curtis Andrews. The self titled play was inspired by true stories of HIV positive Americans before, during and after their HIV positive diagnosis. Through a medley of song and dance, the troop mesmerized the young audience while providing a simple message: get tested often and protect yourself always.

ONE’s message built upon this incredible performance by asking the audience to expand their knowledge of the same disease beyond their own neighborhoods. Twenty-two million Africans suffer from HIV/Aids, and while PEPFAR helped raised the number of treated patients from 50,000 to over 3 million, there are still many more people who need antiretroviral medication immediately. The young adults received ONE bands, signed up for ONE via text message, and were encouraged to visit our site to learn more about what ONE members do to advocate on behalf of others around the world.

I want to thank Zephanii Smith for recognizing the battle against HIV/Aids, while an imperative fight here at home, extends beyond our borders. With our invitation, Zephanii expressed the important role global education plays in protecting ourselves, as well as our local and global community. Make sure to check out the clip of Zephanii and other attendees.

-Roscoe Mapps, ONE Organizer, California

Roscoe Mapps reports from San Francisco and Berkeley; Marlaine Cover reports from San Diego; and Jim Herley Bowling reports from Ocean Park:

San Francisco Stands Up! At City Hall

[Because] “we can’t fail our conscience…”
[Because] “this is a fundamental issue along with climate change that drives the situation in the world today…”
[Because] “it’s important to note that we do have the resources to uproot poverty…”
[Because] “education is the most effective anti-poverty strategy in the world…”
[Because] “we have a President who was elected to help address the needs of the poor…”
“We are standing up today to say, ‘U.S. government, let’s address the fundamental causes, let’s address the issue of poverty…’

These were just a few powerful reasons ONE members joined the San Francisco State University International Relation Student Association, RESULTS, and the Bay Area Interfaith Millennium Development Goals Coalition to Stand Up Against Poverty on the steps of San Francisco City Hall. Standing with City Supervisors David Compos and John Avalos, those historical steps, which have often been a platform to address equality and injustices, became a background of support for those living on less than $2 a day. Check out clips from some of the passionate speakers we enjoyed during this noon event:

Berkeley Students Take Their Turn to Stand Up!

Since 2007 UC Berkeley students have had the option of pursuing a minor degree in Global Poverty and Practice. Under the Blum Center for Developing Economies, students accept the challenge of analyzing the “ethics of global citizenship” and increasing the role their generation has assumed in seeing an end to poverty in our lifetime. With their infamous passion, ONE by ONE, student leaders educated their peers on the purpose and the promise of the Millennium Development Goals. Joined by Professor Ananya Roy and CEO of Back to Earth Ari Derfel, over 130 students and community members attended. Afterward, Sara, an OCC leader, tabled for ONE next to other organizations who stood up that day. Berkeley, an institution known for its students of extraordinary leadership and conviction has once again set the bar for their community to get involved, speak out, and help make the case against poverty.

San Diego Stands Up!

On Sunday ONE San Diego hosted their fourth STAND UP San Diego event at Grape Day Park in Escondido. To underscore their theme of “Taking Humanity to Whole New Heights”, ONE organizers treated participants to kite making and music, and added 203 people to the global Stand Up total.






Church in Ocean Park Stands Up and Holds ONE Sabbath

This past Sunday in Santa Monica, the Church in Ocean Park had a wonderful ONE Sabbath and Stand Up Against Poverty event led by our congregation’s young people. We sang, danced, read the Millennium Development Goals, and announced our follow-up action to Stand Up: the Fall Fancy Dress Ball on Friday, October 30 to raise money for life-saving bednets purchased by the Against Malaria Foundation.

At the end of the service, we ended as we always do–holding hands in a circle. It was our moment to Stand Up with so many others around the globe, to be counted in the fight against global poverty.

ONE members visited Senator Feinstein’s San Diego office to thank her for her support of legislation related to fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals. Seated in a conference room with Field Representative Laura McGann, we voiced special appreciation for the Senator Feinstein’s re-authorization of PEPFAR, support for the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act and most recently endorsement of the “Water for the World” Act. After hand delivering a petition signed by over 16,000 Californians and visiting her offices around the state, Senator Feinstein recently co-sponsored Water for the World Act of 2009.

Recognizing the disproportionate impact climate change has on the poor, we requested Senator Feinstein work to direct 5% of the revenue from current and future climate related legislation to assisting the poorest on our planet. We look forward to a new open door with Laura in the future and always enjoy working with other ONE members. If you are around San Diego you can join us at our next event: Stand-Up Against Poverty on Sunday, October 18th at 4pm. You can RSVP here.

We hope to see you there!

-Marlaine Cover, ONE San Diego

Yesterday, fellow ONE members Trisha Hensley and Sheila Lynch joined me in meeting with Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (CA-6). After thanking the Congresswoman for voting in support of the PEPFAR reauthorization and the JUBILEE Act last year, as well as her co-sponsorship of the ‘Paul Simon Water for the World’, ‘Newborn, Mother and Child Survival’ and ‘Initiating Foreign Aid Reform’ bills this year, we asked her what issues facing the world’s poor she was most passionate. It was clear from Rep. Woolsey’s response that she has a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of the vast array of poverty-related issues, but her personal experiences in Africa have led her to connect most deeply with the prevention of HIV/AIDS and improvement of child and maternal health.

Earlier this year Congresswoman Woolsey joined CARE on a trip to Tanzania to learn more about the challenges facing people in the region. The interactions that she had with women in Tanzania and the struggles they face with lack of prenatal care and the risk of HIV/AIDS continue to compel her to work side-by-side with us at ONE in the fight against extreme global poverty.

Next, we learned more about Congresswoman Woolsey’s courageous stand on ending the genocide in Darfur. It isn’t everyday that a visit to a congresswoman is spent recalling an arrest for civil disobedience action organized by the Save Darfur Coalition outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington!

Below are some of the Congresswoman’s remarks delivered immediately prior to her arrest:

“After recognizing genocide in Darfur almost five years ago, it’s far past time for the international community to come together to end it. We’re here today to send a message to Khartoum, and to the world, that lawmakers in the United States Congress are making ending the genocide in Darfur a top priority. This isn’t a Democratic issue or a Republican issue – this is one of the moral issues of our time.”

As a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Lynn Woolsey continues to be a great champion for world’s poorest people. She expressed gratitude for our visit, as well as the important work ONE is doing, and she encouraged us to spread the word to other members of ONE to visit their representatives, especially those members of Congress who haven’t already demonstrated strong support on these issues.

-Lori Saltveit, ONE San Francisco Bay Area

Friday evening and Saturday afternoon ONE members gathered at theatres in San Francisco and Berkeley for the premiere screening of Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love. The film traces the journey of Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour touring for his album Egypt. Vasarhelyi’s film highlights the contrast of the acceptance the album receives from Youssou’s home and neighboring countries as compared to western culture.

From the corners of the theatre I watched audiences cry and cheer, re-live and relate to Youssou’s story. After the film, we were privileged with a special Q&A session with Chai Vasarhelyi, Director and Producer of the film. I have included a small piece of video, as Vasarhelyi responds to a question regarding screenings in Senegal.

-Roscoe Mapps

On Friday ONE co-hosted a premiere screening of ‘Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love’ in Los Angeles with the film’s director and producer Chai Vasarhelyi.

It was a very enjoyable event with over 200 in attendance for the amazing documentary on ONE policy board member and Senegalese artist Youssou N’Dour. It was great to view scenes of Youssou on Capitol Hill testifying about the importance of US assistance in the fight against malaria and on stage during Live 8.

Director Chai Vasarhelyi held a Q&A after the film. She shared her appreciation for ONE and told some great stories about the making of the film ad her travels through Africa.

ONE members in attendance gained great insight into Youssou’s life, faith, music, and his home country of Senegal. Some of the most captivating footage came as millions of Sufi Muslims of Western Africa traveled to Touba Senegal on pilgrimage.

All film goers received a cool ONE/Youssou t-shirt. Thanks to ONE volunteer Colleen for her help with our tabling efforts.

Check out http://www.ibringwhatilove.com/ to find out when the film will be showing in your home town. You won’t want to miss it.

-Matt Higginson