New Jersey

A quick update from ONE New Jersey

Meeting with Sen. Lautenberg’s staff

Meeting with Sen. Menendez’s Staff

At Rep. Andrews’s office

In the past two weeks, ONE NJ Members dropped by the offices of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, (D-N.J.), Rep. Rob Andrews, (D-N.J.), and Sen. Robert Menendez, (D-N.J.).

While we were there, we had the chance to talk to their staff about some of the efforts that ONE is currently focusing on, including PEPFAR, the Global Fund and the Casey-Lugar letter in support of the Global Food Security Act.

Zachary McCue from Sen. Lautenberg’s office said he was very interested in the work that ONE is doing to end extreme poverty and fight preventable, treatable diseases in the world’s poorest countries. Zach expressed to us that it was nice to have constituents come in for good and positive things rather than coming in with complaints.

We thanked Thomas Woltjen and Jill Walsh from Rep. Andrews’ office for his vote in favor of the PEPFAR Reauthorization and requested that he join his colleagues on the budget committee to urge Chairman Spratt to fully preserve the president’s request for International Affairs in his Chairman’s Mark for FY12. We also learned that Jill was in attendance at the ONE launch in Philadelphia in 2004.

We expressed our thanks to Richard Locklear at Sen. Menendez’s office for the senator’s cosponsoring of the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act.

If you’re interested in joining the 55,000 other New Jersey ONE members, please visit our Mid-Atlantic Region Facebook group.

AND follow ONE Regional Field Director Brian Sweeney on Twitter.

- Barbra Barrar, ONE congressional district leader for New Jersey’s 1st District

Charity, faith, justice and the Global Fund

From time to time, our members and field organizers let us in on what they’re doing in their local faith congregations to fight against extreme poverty. If you’d like to conduct a ONE Sabbath service and mobilize your faith group to take action on the Global Fund petition, email faith@one.org.

The congregation at the First United Methodist Church in Mt. Ephraim, New Jersey enjoyed a full ONE Sabbath service this past Sunday morning. Church Lay Leader Larry Barrar’s message was about going beyond the act of giving — charity — to the ideal of providing justice, which involves more of a relationship between the giver and the recipient.

Barrar explained that as Christians, we are called to a higher love, a love that changes. A love beyond merely giving. We are called to three purposes: compassion, action and community. At ONE we are called upon for these same three purposes in order to create a better world for our brothers and sisters in developing nations.

We were glad to see that a number of church members were eager to sign ONE’s petition to President Obama, asking for a strong, three-year, $6 billion pledge to the Global Fund to Fight HIV, TB and Malaria.

If you would like to share the Global Fund with your faith community, please visit our ONE Sabbath page.

- Barbra Barrar, ONE congressional district leader for New Jersey’s 1st District

More than 600 people join ONE in New Jersey and Penn

ONE members had a blast this weekend at the Daughtry shows in Hershey, Penn., and the Tropicana Showroom in Atlantic City, N.J. As fans arrived at both venues, our ONE teams shared information about ONE’s work in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable, treatable diseases in the world’s poorest countries.

We also got Chris Daughtry himself to retweet us on Twitter: “Very awesome!!! RT @barbiedoll869: @CHRIS_Daughtry ONE team got 482 new members tonight!”

Not only were we able to raise awareness for ONE this weekend, but we also added more than 600 new members! Big thanks to Daughtry and their terrific fans for two great nights!

Live in New Jersey or Pennsylvania? Connect with ONE members in your area on our ONE Mid-Atlantic Region Facebook group.

- Barbra Barrar, ONE congressional district leader for New Jersey’s 1st District

ONE members thank NJ Rep. Rothman for work against extreme poverty

Greetings from the Garden State! This week, New Jersey ONE members kicked off the August congressional recess with a meeting with staff members from Rep. Steve Rothman’s (D-N.J.) office. Many legislators use the recess to meet with their constituents and it is a great opportunity for ONE members to let their representatives in Congress know that they care about fighting extreme poverty.

The importance and need for outreach to congressional members cannot be overstated – they need to hear what their constituents’ priorities are to help guide their agenda and votes in Washington. As the meeting kicked off, we made sure to thank Rep. Rothman’s staff for the congressman’s vote in favor of the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and for cosponsoring the Newborn, Mother and Child Survival Act. Our group also discussed ONE’s mission in combating extreme poverty, AIDS and preventable diseases.

We requested that Rep. Rothman follow up on his PEPFAR vote by supporting major boosts in funding for the Global Fund and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI). Specifically, we asked that Rep. Rothman express his support of the Global Fund to Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and strongly urge her to push for $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2011 for the Global Fund as they finish this year’s appropriations process.

We also indicated that it is critical for the United States to make a commitment to the Global Fund — at least $6 billion dollars over the three years — to help ensure that no child is born with HIV by 2015. While there was not a commitment to the actual funding levels, it was clear from Rep. Rothman’s staff that the congressman is supportive of the mission and goals of ONE. Our group felt that we developed a good relationship with Rep. Rothman’s staff and look forward to a continued dialogue in the future.

- John Orth, ONE Member, New Jersey

Meeting up in Voorhees, NJ

ONE members in New Jersey’s 1st Congressional district came together Wednesday for a screening of the documentary film “The Lazarus Effect”. Members enjoyed the film and were amazed that it only takes 40 cents a day to make such a miraculous change in the lives of people infected with HIV/AIDS.

After the film, we discussed several ways we as ONE members can get involved in our own communities including meeting with our elected officials during the August Congressional recess, additional screenings of the film, and ONE tabling events. Everyone had an enjoyable evening and it was terrific to see local folks interested in spreading the word about ONE!

-Barbra Barrar, Congressional District Leader NJ-1

360 New ONE Members in Trenton!

ONE volunteers came together for the Daughtry show in Trenton, NJ on Sunday to sign up new ONE members. Although it was a very hot day, everyone was excited and got busy raising awareness about ONE and our fight against extreme poverty and preventable, treatable diseases in the worlds poorest countries.

Fans from all over the tri-state area were eager to sign up to help! By the end of the evening, we had over 360 new ONE members. Big thanks to all the volunteers and to Daughtry!

-Barbra Barrar

100 New NJ Members!

This past week I had the pleasure of spending 3 days at the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King Of Prussia, PA, along with more than 1,000 NJ clergy, church officials, and congregants attendant.

On the first day of the conference I became busy spreading the word about ONE and signed up new members. Everyone I spoke with was very receptive about the work we are doing to help eliminate extreme poverty and preventable, treatable disease in the world’s poorest countries.

On day two of the conference, folks came up to the ONE display asking for information because they had heard about ONE from so many other attendees and wanted to know how they could get involved! It was awesome to see so many people wearing the ONE wristbands and knowing that they were spreading the word!

By the last day, I had well over 100 new members signed up on the spot as well as hundreds more who are now aware of ONE. Several pastors are planning to do a ONE Sabbath with their congregations!!

Thanks to everyone at the conference who was so amazing in spreading the word about ONE, especially my dad, who is a fellow NJ ONE member!

Barb Barrar, NJ-1 ONE’s Congressional District Leader for New Jersey