July 24th, 2008 at 12:12 pm | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
Sen. McCain held a town hall meeting in Rochester, NH, yesterday to campaign for President. And just like we did for all the candidates from both parties during the NH Primary, and just we did in Unity, NH, last month - ONE was there to help advocate for the world’s poorest people.
As you can see from earlier posts, Sen. McCain recognized ONE at the start of the town hall and even briefly mentioned how Cindy McCain was joining ONE on a bi-partisan trip to Rwanda.
Later during the town hall meeting, ONE’s Marine, Michael Castaldo raised his hand and spoke with Sen. McCain about US efforts to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa and how it relates to Def. Sec. Gates’ recent call for more funding for humanitarian aid to help win hearts and minds around the world.
Programs like PEPFAR and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, are helping to save millions of lives around the world and lift millions more out of extreme poverty. But it also helps to create a safer and more secure future for those in need, and for us at home.
“And could I also recognize another organization that is very, very popular and a very important one, not only here in New Hampshire but across the country, and that’s an organization called ONE.
This is an organization inspired by a lot of people including Bono and they have over 2 million volunteers in this nation, and they go all over the world, especially Africa, to help cure malaria, AIDS, cholera, and help people. This is one the great examples of what America is all about.
I’m proud that Cindy, and a group, a number of other people, are in Africa as we speak, with the organization called ONE trying to do what we can to help those people and that organization and publicize their great work.
Thank you to the group from ONE, will you guys stand? Thank you very much. Thank you.”
June 30th, 2008 at 10:50 am | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
On Friday, Sen. Obama returned to the Granite State to campaign for President with Sen. Clinton. Some ONE members and I made it out to the event as early as possible to try and reach the two senators and make sure that the world’s poorest people were not forgotten in Unity, NH.
Waiting in the crowd, I was amazed by the number of ONE bands I saw on people everywhere! As New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes made his way to the stage, ONE member Tucker Jadczak was able to reach out to him and offer him a ONE band, which he immediately put on.
Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama finally made their way down to the stage and even through the large crowd, we were able to slip them ONE bands to remind them of the world’s bottom people.
You can see us with Sen. Clinton here:
And with Sen. Obama here, when Tucker thanks him for his efforts to fight AIDS and poverty in Africa:
In much of the media coverage and in many newspapers in New Hampshire and across the nation, you could prominently see Sen. Clinton’s ONE band on her left wrist!
As we move forward in the general election it can be tougher and tougher to have direct engagement with the candidates - but ONE members everywhere are helping to advocate for the world’s poorest people by wearing a ONE shirt, passing a ONE band to a candidate, and finding ways to make our voices heard like writing letters to the editor, and calling their own congressional representatives.
June 16th, 2008 at 3:51 pm | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
It was a late night for Celtics fans, but an early morning for ONE members here in New Hampshire. After a speech to the Concord Chamber of Commerce, I and some more ONE members caught up with New Hampshire’s Senior Senator Judd Gregg.
On the way out the door, we spoke with Senator Gregg about the importance of passing the new global AIDS bill, PEPFAR, which has passed the US House with great bipartisan support and is now in the US Senate.
And ONE member, Kevin Schmidt was able to briefly speak with Senator Gregg about the great work that the Millennium Challenge Corporation is doing to partner with well-governed, yet impoverished, countries. Kevin also noted how ONE Vote ‘08 Chair, former Majority Leader Senator Frist sits on the board of the MCC with Catholic Relief Services CEO Ken Hackett - and he urged Senator Gregg to fully fund the MCC as we head into the very important Appropriations season in the halls of Congress.
By uniting as ONE, and finding way to make our voices heard by our elected leaders, we have the ability to pass, and properly fund, critical and lifesaving programs that will help millions of people that live each and every day in extreme poverty.
May 1st, 2008 at 2:30 pm | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
Last night in Manchester, the New Hampshire Political Library held its annual awards dinner and among the honorees in attendance were former 2008 presidential candidate Gov. Mitt Romney and former 2000 presidential candidate Sen. Bill Bradley.
After the event, I was able to briefly speak with Gov. Romney who recognized me from his days on the campaign trail. I thanked him for his ideas about healthcare and education in developing countries and commented how in the closing days of the NH Primary, he would end his town halls by talking about the need to place regional coordinators in highly impoverished parts of the world to help with more aid and infrastructure and facilitate more trade. He graciously thanked me and ONE before heading out of the event.
In the lobby, I found myself next to Sen. Bradley and was able to offer him a ONE band while I explained that ONE is made up of more than 2.4 million Americans who want our country to better address the emergency crisis of global disease and extreme global poverty. I even mentioned to Sen. Bradley, who is supporting Sen. Obama, that at many town halls and speeches, Sen. Obama often talks about bigger and better US efforts to combat AIDS and malaria in Africa and help save lives of the poorest people on Earth.
Even though the NH Primary is over, ONE has made a lasting impression in helping to change the debate and shift political focus to the world’s poorest people. As we move to a general election, and at the same time advocate for the passage of PEPFAR in the Senate, it is your voice that is making the difference and making sure that our leaders put forward the resources to make extreme, stupid poverty history.
April 21st, 2008 at 4:22 pm | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
ONE member Sarah Archer of Mont Vernon, NH held a ONE Run yesterday to raise awareness of the plight of the world’s poorest people. Sarah organized a 5K run, a 5K walk, and a 1 mile walk, that attracted over 70 local New Hampshire residents at her high school.
The weather in New Hampshire was beautiful and although we were a continent away, participants wore ONE bands and some wore ONE shirts to show support for ONE and the world’s poorest people. Sarah created a fun and healthy way for people to spread the word about ONE and draw attention to the emergency crisis of global poverty.
Over a billion people in the world live in extreme poverty and die by the millions from preventable and treatable disease, or lack of clean water. But our nation is taking new and great steps to fight extreme poverty and save lives. By joining ONE and taking action by writing letters, sending emails and making phone calls to your leaders, and by building local awareness events like this ONE Run, we can raise our voices and make sure that our country is taking even bigger are greater steps to make poverty history!
March 14th, 2008 at 12:36 pm | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
Wednesday, Sen. McCain returned to NH to hold a town hall meeting and thank the people of New Hampshire. ONE Vote ‘08 members made it out on the trail one more time for help raise our voices for the poorest people on Earth. We had ONE members in the front rows, in the balcony, and a few even on stage.
As soon as Sen. McCain came on stage he noticed us in our ONE shirts and thanked us for being there and he even had ONE’s Marine Michael Castaldo stand and recognized him in front of everyone.
After a few questions, Sen. McCain spoke about ONE and had the microphone passed to Michael. Michael spoke about ONE and mentioned NH’s Senator Sununu’s efforts to restore and secure billions to the International Affairs Budget. Check it out:
As the town hall ended, I was able to speak directly with Sen. Joe Lieberman and told him about the Biden-Lugar Amendment to restore 4.1 billion dollars of critical life saving funds to the Budget. He told me that he would support it and to count him in. (The amendment passed, with his vote, at 1 a.m. today.)
And as Sen. McCain made his way to his campaign bus, ONE member Emerson Lennon was able to make it through the crowd to reach him right before he took off.
March 11th, 2008 at 2:09 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Just now, ONE member Melissa Skinner dropped off over 50 letters to Sen. Gregg’s Office from “UNH for ONE” urging him for more funds for the international affairs budget.
Check out the video:
After, Melissa talks about leaving a message for Sen. Gregg, Melissa urges all ONE members to take action today by calling their Senators’ offices and urging them to support a maximize increase for the 2009 international affairs budget.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:12 pm | posted by Virginia Simmons
Last week, “UNH for ONE” set up tables at the University of New Hampshire and asked their fellow students to sign letters to NH Senator Judd Gregg, asking him for a robust international affairs budget. They collected over 50 letters that I will deliver to Senator Gregg’s Office later today.
“UNH for ONE” is now phone banking on campus to thank NH Senator Sununu for signing onto the “Smith-Feinstein Amendment” and calling Senator Gregg’s Office to ask that he support the amendment that would restore over 2.6 billion dollars to the international affairs budget.
February 11th, 2008 at 1:32 pm | posted by Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer
On Thursay, ONE’s Marine Michael Castaldo asked NH ONE members to write letters encouraging NH Senator John E. Sununu to sign on to the Global Child Survival Act. In just one day, more than 250 Granite Staters took action.
The next day, we went to Senator Sununu’s Office to present his staff with the letters. On our way, we stopped in unannounced at NH Senator Judd Gregg’s office to request a meeting about the upcoming US budget and while we were there we ran into a staffer who was already wearing his ONE band!
When we arrived at Senator Sununu’s office, I immediately noticed the award that “UNH for ONE” presented Senator Sununu for his leadership in the fight against global AIDS and extreme poverty in Africa. Many ONE members know Senator Sununu best for his support of the Jubilee Act, his work to fully fund the Millennium Challenge Corporation, his efforts to help restore and secure more than a billion life-saving funds in the 2007 CR, and his recent World AIDS Day speech at Dartmouth.
After thanking Senator Sununu’s staff for all of his work on behalf of the world’s poorest people, we presented the letters on the Global Child Survival Act to his State Director Pam Kocher, who is also a NH ONE Vote ‘08 Ambassador.
Strong leaders on both side of the aisle are taking bold steps to make sure that our country is doing all we can to save the lives of millions of people in developing places around the world, and to make extreme - stupid poverty…history!
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