On December 1, World AIDS Day, we’ll be marking a critical point in our fight against HIV/AIDS. Currently, 6.6 million people are receiving treatment (up from just 100,000 in 2002), but we’re a long way from declaring victory. So this year, let’s be a part of the solution. It’s time to spread the word about all the progress we’ve made in the fight against HIV/AIDS — and show how much more needs to get done, too.

What can you do to get involved in Challenge No. 4? Host a World AIDS Day event on your campus or in your community. Plan a movie night with friends. Turn a landmark on campus (RED), or write to your members of Congress and ask them to continue to fund the fight. And stay tuned, because we’ll reveal a big World AIDS Day project of our own next week…

And wondering who won Challenge No. 3? It was close (you guys submitted more than 500 photo petitions!), but Brigham Young University in Hawaii took the lead by hosting a petition photo-shoot and hunger banquet on campus — resulting in hundreds of handwritten letters, petitions and photographs that were delivered to their senators’ offices! Clark University took a solid second place while getting more than 10 percent of their campus to participate in their photo-petition -– and even met with Rep. McGovern to discuss effective poverty fighting programs. Newcomer Illinois State University pulled off an upset for third, with more than 200 photo petitions!

Don’t forget: the first half of the ONE Campus Challenge ends December 2nd –- and our top three campuses will secure spots to Bonnaroo. Get to work before the clock runs out in 11 days!

Students from the University of Florida

The students from the University of Michigan and the University of Florida who participated in the grand prize for the ONE Campus Challenge (OCC) are home now after three exciting days that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

After flying in from all around the country we jumped straight into discussions about the new and improved direction of OCC. Our main goal was to determine how to make recruitment on college campuses most successful and we came to the conclusion that it requires the perfect balance between education and advocacy. Among the things discussed was how to strike a good balance between raising awareness and real advocacy, and how to utilize social media to mobilize the student population.

Students from the University of Michigan with Bono

After a couple of days in DC, we took a train to Philadelphia for the U2 concert and a very unique experience: a quick meeting with Bono himself. After sharing some of our accomplishments and campaigning success with Bono, we were able to snap a photo with each campus group. Our conversation was very inspiring — Bono spoke about Living Proof and the positive results US investments are having in Africa. He also stressed the importance of being creative and having fun while making a difference.

The real reward was watching him convey those same ideas to the crowd in Philly. As ONE leaders, we know how difficult it is to convince people that fighting poverty is a cause worth joining — but being in the audience as he promoted our cause and inspired an entire stadium of people was exhilarating. At the end of the concert, Bono publicly thanked the University of Florida and the University of Michigan for our on-campus work -– but we know now, more than ever, that our hard work has just begun.

This trip was nothing short of amazing, and it made us even more excited to jump into the next season of OCC when we get back in the fall!

-Taylor Parker, University of Florida, and Lesley Kucharski, University of Michigan

P.S. Want to get involved with next year’s ONE Campus Challenge? Sign up to become a leader!

Students from University of Michigan and University of Florida gathered in a conference room to discuss the improvements to OCC and future challenges for the upcoming year. Although both of our schools have been successful in advocating and educating our campuses, it became very clear that we accomplished this in very different ways.

We got the chance to speak with ONE staff members like Sheila Nix, Mike Henry, Jeff Davidoff, Garth Moore and a handful of others about why students are such important advocates, and how meaningful our work is on campus. With the same end in sight, ideas were pitched and many, many suggestions for improvement were made. In the end, both campuses feel that this upcoming challenge year will be the best yet, and every ONE campus across the country will feel just as crucial a part in the fight against poverty that we felt today.

The upcoming challenge will be more sophisticated than previous years, and our advocacy work more focused on education and efficiency. The point system will be similar to last year, yet there is more room for creativity within each monthly challenge for schools to customize their outreach to their specific campuses.

A great year is ahead of us. Get ready for the 2011 to 2012 launch of OCC in September!

-Dana Pranito, ONE Campus member, University of Michigan Ann Arbor

About 30 ONE volunteers approached 70,000 people attending the U2 concert in East Lansing, Michigan, adding 3,257 new members to the existing 2.5 million members of ONE. Each signature also supported the GAVI vaccine petition, which will help save four million premature childhood deaths by 2015. ONE members from as far as South Carolina and Ohio engaged concert attendees alongside Amnesty International and the Aung San Suu Kyi Charity in the summertime heat for nearly five hours on the Michigan State University campus.

Steve Radelet, chief economist at USAID, was also seen at the concert. ONE members had the opportunity to hear from Steve in April at the ONE Summit, which gave volunteers from across the nation the opportunity to engage their state representatives on Capitol Hill.

“This is something we want to look back on, and be proud that we were a part of.” said GVSU volunteer Zac Lantz. U2 shows amplify the message of ONE to the world that together we can work to make a difference for the world’s poorest.

-William Dorn and Aaron Vince, ONE Congressional District Leaders (SC 4, MI 3)

Summer is nearly here –- the weather is getting warmer, exams are almost over, and our ONE Campus students certainly deserve a change of pace after a long yet rewarding year of advocating for the world’s poorest people. Students from around the country have a lot planned for their summers -– they’re going to volunteer, travel and get internships all around the world during their well-deserved break.

That’s why this year, we’re encouraging our students to grab a camera and start taking some captivating photos. Send us a photo of you in ONE gear, of your travels in the developing world or of a personal story centered on extreme poverty in Africa — and submit as many high-quality, high-resolution photos you would like for a chance to win our Summer Photo Challenge!

The first, second and third place winners of the challenge will receive special media outreach from ONE’s stellar communications team, will be featured on the main ONE blog and get some exclusive ONE gear. Check out our full challenge rules here –- and break out those cameras!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

The winners of this year’s ONE Campus Individual Awards are:

ONE Campus Advocate of the Year — Conor Leary, freshman campus leader at the University of Delaware. Conor worked unbelievably hard to make sure his entire campus got active when it came tissue of extreme poverty and disease. He even hosted Senator Chris Coons for a lively forum that offered a lot of great info about foreign aid and the federal budget. Congrats, Conor!

ONE Campus Leader of the Year–Domonique Worship at the University of Florida. Domonique helped build her school into one of the strongest OCC chapters in the country. She led letter-writing campaigns, hosted can’t-be-missed events, and executed an outstanding final project—all while training a new Campus leader before she graduates. Congrats, Domonique!

ONE Campus Writing & Research Prize–Sarah Hunter at Boston University. Sarah’s paper Water Privatization in Africa—which discusses the challenges of standardizing water purification and distribution in sub-Saharan Africa—was impressive to read, and really informative. Read the whole paper here. Congrats, Sarah!

Besides eternal bragging rights, our winners will receive some special media attention and some awesome ONE gear.

Still wondering how you can stay involved over the summer break? Never fear: OCC still has another exciting opportunity for students this summer! Studying abroad? Volunteering in the developing world? Have a cool internship? Bring a camera and participate in our Summer Photo Challenge! While you’re taking a well deserved summer break, take some captivating photos that speak to ONE’s issues. Submit as many photos as you’d like –- the first, second, and third place winners will receive a special Individual ONE Award as well as targeted media outreach, be featured on our Blog, and some really great ONE gear! Check out our full competition rules here.

Sen. Coons meets UDel ONE members

Students and members of the community gathered for a discussion on global development issues, specifically focusing on the International Affairs Budget and aid effectiveness. At a time when the federal budget is at the center of many conversations and debates, the forum focused on what cuts to foreign assistance today would mean to America and the world in the long run.

America’s global, life-saving initiatives are remarkably affordable, effective and have delivered measurable, proven results. Those results are measured in lives saved, new global alliances, and increased opportunity for economic growth and American trade.

In addition to Sen. Coons, who is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on African Affairs and Co-chair of the Senate’s Malaria Working Group, other notable panelists included Dr. Gretchen Bauer, department head for political science and international relations at the University of Delaware, and Kim Zimmerman, assistant director of US Government Relations at ONE. Conor Leary, a student at University of Delaware and the new president of UDel’s ONE Student Chapter, moderated the forum.

The expert panelists and passionate crowd had an excellent discussion. As ONE members, we have to continue this important dialogue with our elected officials to demonstrate to Senator Coons and his colleagues in Congress that there is political will to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease through effective US investments in development.

To help illustrate this point, we had the opportunity to share ONE’s new PSA “Why Bother.” The forum was a huge success due to the hard work and advocacy demonstrated by the ONE members at the University of Delaware! Well done!

Follow Brian on Facebook at @Brian_at_ONE

The men’s soccer team at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee brought the spirit of ONE onto their playing field last week when they donned ONE shirts during a crucial warm-up session for the quarterfinal game in the TranSouth Conference Tournament. Despite the near-freezing temperatures, the always-professional players managed to not only get their heads in the game, but help raise awareness for the world’s poorest people.

This was a successful first event for Union’s newly formed ONE Campus chapter, which launched this fall. ONE chapter members were on hand in hats and gloves distributing ONE bands and signing up students, all while cheering on their team from the sidelines. The group received a high turnout despite the weather, generating excitement and interest from their fellow fans, all while engaging fellow students about the importance of being advocates for those living on less than $1.25 a day.

Union’s ONE chapter head, Sarah White, was inspired by the energy and interest in this summer’s World Cup in South Africa and felt that partnering with the men’s soccer team would be a good opportunity to help raise ONE’s profile on campus. And with the team attracting players from all over the world -– Bosnia, Serbia, Brazil, Croatia, Scotland, Honduras and Guatemala, to name a few -– White felt the team presented a perfect opportunity to showcase the power of coming together as a team and a campus to advocate on behalf of the world’s poorest.

Visit Union’s new ONE chapter blog and stayed tuned as they begin to establish themselves on campus this year. Congrats Union, can’t wait to see what else you’ve got in store!

Our ONE Campus groups were out in full force last week in the name of Halloween festive fun, helping to make our unique flier campaign a huge success. With fliers plastering campuses from Michigan to California, students from 14 schools helped to get the word out on ONE’s issues in the lead-up to the spookiest weekend of the year.

In addition to having a frighteningly fun Halloween, participating ONE Campus groups shared facts about malaria and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, with many also holding events (think of bed nets as cobwebs, people) to help get their fellow college students get into the festive spirit. But just because trick-or-treating and Halloween are over, it doesn’t mean we’ve reached the end of our poverty-fighting efforts. ONE Campus Season 4 is officially in full swing, so stay tuned for other fun and unique campaigns that our college students are working on and how you can get involved on your campus and community this year.

The program kicked off in September with a live video-conference and call to action with Barbara Bush, and we’ve taken off ever since. With a month under our belts, we have more than 100 student leaders across the country bringing the fight against poverty onto their campuses. This month, students are rallying around a number of advocacy actions, including ONE Vote 2010 platform drop-offs, “The Lazarus Effect” screenings and an educational flier campaign around Halloween.

Don’t worry, the contest we all know and love will be back better than ever and is scheduled to launch in early 2011. Until then, get in the game! There’s still plenty of time to host a Lazarus Effect Screening at your campus.

Are you interested in leading the fight against poverty on your campus? We want you! Go to http://www.one.org/campus/ and become a campus leader or join an existing chapter. At this very moment, there are students on your college campus hungry to make a big difference for the world’s poorest people. We need your help to channel that energy and ensure legislative and policy victories for improved government, greater economic development and smarter aid in the developing world.

Questions? Contact ONE Campus Coordinator Mike Fazzino or College and Young Adult Field Manager Erin Finucane .

Join the fight to make poverty history today!