Recently, Florida ONE members Anthony Wojtkowiak, Marc Wharton and I met with Ms. Willowstine Lawson, Senator Nelson’s regional director for Broward County. During the meeting we talked about how we got involved with ONE and the importance of U.S. leadership in fighting extreme poverty and global disease.

Specifically, we discussed climate change’s adverse impact on developing countries (who have contributed very little to global warming) particularly in the agriculture and water sectors. We asked that Senator Nelson support 5% of any revenue produced from future climate legislation to directly address this issue. We mentioned the benefits that the small increase from the current allocation of 2% would add, for example: increased trade opportunities, more good will towards the US, and a reduced risk of support for religious extremism, just to name a few.

It was a great meeting and a first step towards building a stronger relationship with Senator Nelson’s Broward County staff.

-Johanna Salazar, FL ONE Member

Just a reminder that if you haven’t done so yet, please submit your design for ONE’s Next Top T-Shirt by tomorrow’s deadline. After noon tomorrow (EST), we will no longer be accepting submissions.

In the past couple days we’ve received many excellent designs, but the winning design could still be out there! Remember to submit it here and ask your friends to do the same. Check out a sample of submissions we’ve received so far in the gallery below.

Good luck!

This weekend, ONE members in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis / St Paul, MN) region are trying something a little different in spreading the word about getting involved to help the worlds poorest people.

On Sunday November 1 from 6-7pm (Central), they will be broadcasting across community radio airwaves on KFAI’s “The Wave Project”. Active ONE members will be talking about advocacy with ONE, the issues, and sharing success stories of the governments and citizens who are successfully moving out of poverty. During the show, a ONE staff member will also join in via a call in interview to discuss a few issues in greater depth.

The show can be heard in The Twin Cities on 90.3FM. Around the world, listeners can tune into www.kfai.org and listen to a live audio stream at 6pm Central Time.

Last weekend several of us went in to the studio and recorded the commercial for the show which was a lot of fun. But more than just having a good time, we are really looking forward to engaging and informing listeners in our community who have not heard of ONE.

-The Twin Cities ONE Team

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

As we continue our search for ONE’s Next Top T-Shirt, lots of designs are already rolling in. You can check out just a small sample below of what we’ve gotten so far.

Remember to submit your design if you haven’t already before November 3rd. Good luck!

Saturday was an awesome day to fight extreme poverty in Louisville, KY! The multi-platinum selling rock band Third Day found out that the day of their Louisville concert fell during the weekend of the international Stand Up Against Poverty and they not only wanted to take part during their concert but also had the idea of doing a special question and answer session with anyone who agreed to become ONE members!

Thirteen great ONE volunteers got to Freedom Hall to start working to recruit new members at 6:00PM and by the time Third Day took the stage around 9:00 we had signed up 538 people who wanted to join us in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases. The volunteers did such an awesome job we were worried we would not be able to fit everyone into the Q&A after the concert!

During the concert Third Day slowed things down and told the audience that they were going to do something kind of unusual for a rock concert- that they wanted everyone to sit down! At that point the lead singer Mac and the bassist Tai spoke about ONE and the importance of everyone coming together to make a difference in the fight against extreme poverty. They then turned it over to WJIE Radio station DJ Chris Crain to read the Stand Up pledge asking people to commit themselves to fighting poverty every day. It was so exciting to be part of over 6000 people all at one time standing up and cheering in coordination with millions of people all over the planet doing the same thing.

After the show was the special Q&A session for ONE members, and over 400 people poured into the room anxiously waiting to hear more from their favorite band. I kicked things off by talking about ONE and ways people in Louisville can use their voices for the world’s poorest people. Then all the members of Third Day entered the room as their fans went wild! Starting off the Q&A both Mac and Tai spoke very passionately about the importance of fighting for the poorest of the poor and how ONE makes it very easy to get started in that fight. People had tons of questions and were so excited for the opportunity to learn more about ONE and get to see such a personal side of Third Day.

Overall it was an amazing day to Stand Up Against Poverty and I was so fortunate to be part of it all!

PS: Stay tuned to the ONE Blog for some video and pictures from the Q&A with Third Day soon!

On Saturday I joined Pennsylvania ONE Members and volunteers from RESULTS to STAND UP against poverty in Philadelphia, PA.

On top of everyone STANDING UP, our day together focused on the challenges of extreme poverty, the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and publicly urging our elected officials to support proven successful life-saving programs like the Global Fund. There was also importance placed on several advocacy related functions that everyone can participate in including writing letters to your Member of Congress.

In addition to learning more about how we can be a part of the solution, everyone was fortunate enough to listen to Dr. Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health and subject of the book Mountains Beyond Mountains, speak live about what it takes to make a movement to end poverty.

People in attendance seemed inspired and ready to take an action – whether it be attending a meeting with a member of Congress or simply spreading the word to friends and colleagues about the importance of advocacy and demonstrating their commitment to fight for the poorest people in the world.

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.

New York ONE Members added their voice to those standing up against poverty on Friday, highlighting World Food Day and the Millennium Development Goals.

ONE was joined for the New York City Stand Up event by MercyCorps, a global relief and development organization, and Anita Sharma, North American Coordinator of the United Nations Millennium Campaign. Standing with people from around the world on this day, it was great to see those at the local level also coming together to combat the challenges of extreme poverty.

-Christopher Geer, ONE Field Organizer

Recently, PA ONE Members held a “Call Party” to engage our Senators. A number of important pieces of legislation are currently being considered and PA ONE Members made sure their voices and concerns were heard! The calls were in reference to cosponsoring the following:

• S. 1524, the Foreign Assistance Revitalization and Accountability Act of 2009 introduced by Senator Kerry and Senator Lugar. S. 1524 would strengthen the capacity, transparency, and accountability of United States foreign assistance programs to effectively adapt and respond to new challenges of the 21st century. Please urge your Members of Congress to do so here

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• S. 624, the Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009. S. 624, known simply as the Senate Water bill would provide 100,000,000 people with first-time access to safe drinking water and sanitation on a sustainable basis by 2015 by improving the capacity of the United States Government to fully implement the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005. You can add your voice here.

PA ONE Members also asked their Senators to ensure the world’s poorest people are able to confront the new challenges of climate change. You can urge your Senator to do the same by clicking here.

“Call Parties” are a good way for ONE Members to get together and let their elected officials know that their constituents care about these issues. Way to go PA ONE Members!

-Brian Sweeney