Chris Daughtry and his band DAUGHTRY will be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show today talking about ONE and his recent trip to Uganda. They’ll also talk a bit about our new ONE Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor and the African Children’s Choir will perform.

Chris has been an amazing advocate for ONE. Tune in today. (Air times vary by your area’s TV schedule.)

The African Children’s Choir visited Ames, IA, last Friday night to perform at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. The Iowa State ONE group was there with a table inviting people to sign the ONE Declaration.

The children in the choir, 7 to 12 years old, started out singing songs in both in English and African languages. In the middle of the concert, we watched a video to raise awareness of the conditions the children were living in before they joined the choir – orphaned by AIDS or torn from their families by war and living on the streets of Uganda, Nigeria, or Tanzania.

The presentation was all the more moving when the children came back to perform the second half. They started by telling the audience what they wanted to be when they grow up – doctors, nurses, beauticians, senators, and presidents!

After the concert, several members stood near the exits of the church with clipboards while the rest manned the table. We talked to a number of people about how they can help children with similar stories in Africa by joining ONE and by encouraging our own government to play its role.

Over sixty students and community members added their names to the ONE Declaration and joined us in the fight!

-Elise Mullen, member of ONE at Iowa State

Sen. Hillary Clinton filed for the New Hampshire Primary on Friday and like every other candidate, she sat down at the famous desk in the NH Secretary of State’s Office, the same seat that a few of the girls from the African Children’s Choir sat in last week.

Sen. Clinton was joined by her state co-chair Bill Shaheen and greeted by NH State Sen. Maggie Hasson, both NH ONE Ambassadors. I could even see Sen. Hasson’s ONE band when she shook hands with Hillary!

After filing, Hillary made her way through the Hall of Flags and when she saw me, she noticed my ONE Vote ‘08 pin, and came right up to me asking about the ONE Campaign. I was able to talk with her about President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the new, fresh but struggling Liberia. Hillary told me how she has known President Johnson Sirleaf for years and how supportive she was.

Right before Hillary left the state house to give a speech to the large crowd that had gathered outside, ONE’s Marine, Michael Castaldo in his black ONE shirt, was able to catch the attention of Hillary and yelled out, “Madame Senator!” while holding out a ONE band. Hillary stopped and went over to Michael and immediately put on a ONE band and made her way to the stage where she saw and heard from many more ONE members in the crowd.

The NH filing period closes today, but ONE’s work is not done! From Sammi in Seattle, to Michael in the Granite State, and the 2.4 million ONE members in between, we are all doing our part to make sure our nation is doing everything we can to fight global disease and extreme poverty. We will make sure that the next president of the United States knows that saving lives in the poorest nations on Earth is not just possible, it is a priority!

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

For the past two weeks, ONE members and supporters have been running up and down the stairs at the New Hampshire State House chasing all of the candidates as they officially file to enter into the NH Primary.

Like they have done for decades, every major candidate makes their way to the historic desk of the NH Secretary of State to file the necessary paper work to run for the highest office in our land. Except this year, they have seen and heard from the ONE Campaign and ONE Vote ‘08 on behalf of the world’s poorest people!

I have been there with countless ONE members, and NH ONE Ambassadors, as almost every candidate has sat down at the historic desk as the press looks on.

So on Tuesday, when the African Children’s Choir came to the New Hampshire State House, after their performance, I snuck up to the famed office with a few of the young singers. The girls very proudly took a seat at the desk and I snapped a few pictures.

While they did not officially sign up to run, it is clear that through ONE Vote ‘08, we have helped to make sure that AIDS orphans like those girls have a voice in this primary season. Here in the Granite State, we are making sure that the next president of the United States, Republican or Democrat, man or woman, knows that fighting global disease and extreme poverty is a priority!

Watching those African girls sit in that famous political seat was, for me, one of the highlights of ONE Vote’s efforts and symbolizes our efforts to ensure that the world’s poorest people have a seat at the table.

Tomorrow, Sen. Hillary Clinton will sit at that desk and in that seat to file her papers and you better believe that she will hear and see from ONE Vote ‘08!

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

The African Children’s Choir came to Concord, New Hampshire, today and ONE Vote ‘08 partnered with them for a special event at the New Hampshire State House!

You may remember the African Children’s Choir as they were at the national ONE Vote ‘08 launch in DC and were also featured on the “American Idol – Idol gives back” show earlier this year.

We were very excited, and before they preformed in the Hall of Flags lobby of the State House, we gave them a tour which included both the New Hampshire Senate and the New Hampshire House of Representatives. There is a great shot of NH State Senator David Gottesman watching as one of the talented singers sat in his Senate seat. Then it was down the marble stairs where over a hundred guests and ONE supporters gathered for our event.

Our ONE Vote ‘08 Republican co-chair Rich Ashooh introduced the State Senate President Sylvia Larson, and NH ONE Ambassador, who greeted the Choir. Then NH Gov. Lynch offered a commendation for the African Children’s Choir and thanked them and ONE Vote ‘08 for our efforts to alleviate poverty and disease in Africa.

The Choir performance was amazing, and the historic Hall of Flags was packed with ONE supporters! We had many NH Representatives, as well as State Senators Maggie Hasson and Robert “Bob” Letourneau. We even saw many representatives from some of the presidential campaigns and staffers from NH US Rep. Hodes’ Office.

Here in New Hampshire, ONE Vote ‘08 has build broad bi-partisan support on behalf of the world’s poorest people. Today was a celebration of our efforts and of all of the world’s children that struggle to overcome global disease and global extreme poverty. We cannot thank the African Children’s Choir enough for their beautiful performance today and for brining their story, and their song to help rally Americans together as ONE!

More to come…even a video of the event!

-Matthew Bartlett, ONE Regional Organizer

UPDATE: Watch this clip of the African Children’s Choir taking a quick tour at the New Hampshire State House and their amazing performance – with special introductions from NH Gov. John Lynch and NH Senate President Sylvia Larson!