Senators Santorum and Wofford Join for ONE in PA

I’m happy to announce that ONE is forging some common ground here in the Keystone State.

Former Senators—and former political opponents—Rick Santorum (a Republican) and Harris Wofford (a Democrat) have signed on to serve as Pennsylvania ONE Vote ’08 co-chairs. As co-chairs, Sens. Santorum and Wofford will help lead ONE’s efforts here in Pennsylvania to showcase the opportunity the next president—whoever it is—has to make a lifesaving, game-changing difference in the fight against global poverty.

From Philly to Pittsburgh, I’ve already seen ONE’s message breaking through on the campaign trail. The candidates are fielding questions on how they, as president, will fight HIV/AIDS and malaria, help save the lives of babies and mothers from preventable diseases and work to put more children in school across Africa.

Now with Sens. Wofford and Santorum signed on, we are ready to turn up the volume on our efforts.

“I look forward to hearing from Senators McCain and Obama on how they intend to address these vital issues should they enter the White House,” Sen. Santorum told us.

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ONE at the Debate

Wednesday night Senators Clinton and Obama engaged in their first debate in weeks. While they were inside the National Constitution Center discussing their plans for the country, ONE was outside making sure someone was speaking up for all those suffering from extreme poverty around the world. We were out there handing out literature, speaking with Clinton and Obama supporters, giving a voice to those who so often lack one. It was an amazing sight, being part of a crowd of hundreds of supporters, protesters, and activists. The campaign trail is hot here in Pennsylvania and we’re keeping the heat on the candidates about their commitments to fight global poverty.

-Tyler Bond, ONE Vote ’08 organizer, Philadelphia, PA

Compassion Forum Talks Global Poverty

Sunday night’s Compassion Forum, hosted by Messiah College in Grantham, PA, brought Senators Obama and Clinton together. The event was put on by Faith In Public Life and sponsored by ONE and Oxfam America. Although he was invited, Senator McCain did not attend the forum.

With a question and answer format, moderated by Newsweek’s John Meacham and CNN’s Campbell Brown, questions ranged from the role of religion in public life to those about AIDS in Uganda and federal funding for poverty relief.
Questions were also taken from religious leaders in the audience. Reverend William J. Shaw, of the National Baptist Convention asked Senator Clinton how her administration would deal with the difficulties of providing poor people in “developing countries” with “inexpensive, generic drugs for the treatment of AIDS and other sicknesses.”

Clinton said, “I believe that our government must do so much more to get generic drugs and low-cost drugs to people suffering…not only from HIV/AIDS, but the range of diseases that affect disproportionately the poor…” Clinton went on to commend PEPFAR, calling it “a very bold and important commitment, but it didn’t go far enough in opening up the door to generics and getting the costs down.”

To work toward solutions to these and other problems, citing lack of education, malaria, and TB among them, Clinton said, “I want us to have a partnership, government to government, government with the private sector, government with our NGOS and our faith community to show the best of what America has to offer.”

Senator Obama was questioned by religious leaders as well. Frank Page, of the Southern Baptist Convention, questioned Senator Obama about faith and abstinance-based AIDS prevention programs in Uganda. In his answer, Senator Obama also complimented the PEPFAR program as “one of the success stories of this administration. We’ve seen a drastic increase in funding. And terrific work is being done between the CDC, the NIH, local AIDS organizations, NGOs.”

Obama said that as president, he would “use whatever the best approaches are, the scientifically sound approaches are, to reduce this devastating disease all across the world…” and would seek to “make antiviral drugs available to people who are in extreme poverty.”

You can read through the full transcript here.

-Chris Geer, ONE Vote ‘08 field organizer, Pennsylvania

Tracking the Candidates in PA and FL

ONE Vote ‘08 has sent field staff to key swing states to raise the issue of global poverty at the candidates’ events leading up to the election. Below posts from Tyler in Pennsylvania and Jedidiah in Florida.

Well, I just landed here in Pennsylvania and I’ve already hit the ground running. On April 4, a panel of Senator Obama’s senior foreign policy advisors met at the University of Pennsylvania to discuss Senator Obama’s positions on foreign affairs. While many of the questions focused on the War in Iraq, relations with China, Russia, and Pakistan, and the tension between international law and national security, one question did address issues of concern to ONE.

Dr. Susan Rice, a former assistant secretary of state for African affairs, responded to a question on economic development and combating major disease in Africa, especially in light of Senator Obama’s personal connections to the continent. She said America and the world had been “ill-served by relegating Africa to the back burner” because it is in our strategic and security interests to be involved on the continent. She said Senator Obama would pursue a more “holistic” approach, addressing “trans-national” security challenges, from terrorism and proliferation to disease and environmental degradation. She claims that one of Senator Obama¹s unique foreign policy insights was the recognition that “our national security depends on the security of people in every corner of the globe.” She said as president, Senator Obama would double foreign aid and would work to strengthen the healthcare infrastructure in developing countries.

-Tyler Bond, ONE Vote ‘08 field organizer, Pennsylvania

Friday was my first day and I had the job of going to a McCain roundtable event in Pensacola, Florida, and making sure the poorest in the world weren’t forgotten at the event.

At the event I was able to reach out to Republican leaders in the panhandle for the ONE Campaign and the global fight against extreme poverty. Clay Williams the Republican Field Staff for the Panhandle and Clay Ingram the Chairman of the Escambia County Republican Executive Committee received our platform well. I am excited to work with them in the future.

-Jedidiah Hall, ONE Vote ‘08 field organizer, Florida

Obama Plays Hardball and ONE is there!

Last week it was announced that MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews would kick off their College Tour on April 2 at my campus, West Chester University. I had already started a ONE student group on campus and realized that this presented a unique opportunity to advocate for the world’s poorest people.

So on Monday morning five of our group’s members headed out and waited over two hours in line. That might not have been that bad except it was pouring down rain the entire time! We were soggy but we were also excited because the Pennsylvania Primary is coming up, and all of the sudden the candidates are starting to come to town. I have been following ONE Vote ‘08 since this summer and now I can actually go let all the candidates, both Democrat and Republican, know how important it is for our next president to be a leader in the fight against extreme poverty.

Wednesday was the big day and we headed over to the school gym to wait in our second line of the week. Luckily, members of ONE West Chester University were able to get five tickets for Hardball. All the waiting paid off because we got great seats. You see we really wanted to sit in the front so that everyone would notice our ONE Vote ‘08 T-shirts, and we would have a better chance at being able to ask Senator Obama a question during the filming.

While we were not able to ask a question during Hardball it was still a great night for ONE in Pennsylvania! We were able to tell lots of people about ONE, Senator Obama waved to us as we pointed out the ONE Vote 08 logo on our shirts, and we were even able to briefly meet Chris Matthews. It was a great experience. Now we are keeping a look out for all the candidates so we can be there when they come to town.

We need your help too - if you see that a presidential candidate is coming to your town then head on out. How else would you be able to participate in the United States presidential race AND stand in support of people who live on less than a dollar a day around the world by just by throwing on a T-shirt?

-Jennifer Sherlock, ONE Member West Chester, PA

Sweet! Brian Sweeney Makes the News

LDNews.com published a feature story on Pennsylvania ONE super volunteer Brian Sweeney. An excerpt:

Daughter inspiration for ‘ONE’ campaigner

Brian Sweeney has a full-time job and a busy home life. Yet, the 33-year-old Jonestown man still finds time to volunteer about 20 hours a week for the ONE campaign.

When he’s not working as a warehouse technician for Sherwin-Williams or spending time with his wife, Michelle, an English teacher at Northern Lebanon High School, and 3-year-old daughter, Grace, he’s trying to further the cause of the ONE campaign….

“I’m doing this because of an Irish rock star and a little girl named Grace,” Sweeney said, referring to Bono, the lead singer of U2 and a ONE advocate, and his daughter.

“What took off after that was being a dad, being a parent,” Sweeney said, “and starting to realize some of the unfair things that face kids and children every day. It makes me angry. Where you live should not decide whether you live.”

“I think of her (Grace), and that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning,” he said. “That’s what keeps me up until 3 in the morning reading online about whatever legislation is on the Senate floor.”

Read the full story here.

Jonestown in the House

This past Saturday Aug 11, Jonestown, PA, was declared the very first “City of ONE” in Pennsylvania!

The community came together for the Annual Spirit of Jonestown Parade and Picnic where ONE supporters hosted a float in the parade and a table where people could join the campaign at the picnic. At the picnic, Jonestown Mayor George Kaufman signed the “City of ONE” Proclamation and State Representative RoseMarie Swanger presented the volunteers with a “Certificate of Recognition” from the State house.

ONE member and Jonestown resident Brian Sweeney headed the effort to secure the proclamation and have a float for ONE in the parade. “I have learned through my volunteering with ONE what I can do as an average citizen to make a difference in fighting extreme poverty around the world. Turns out, there’s a lot I can do,” explains Sweeney. “I can ask my mayor to make my hometown a City of ONE, I can ask my Governor to declare my state a State of ONE, and I can call on my representatives in Congress to make the right decisions for the world’s poorest people.”

Jonestown ONE members worked for months, meeting with the mayor, planning for the float, and recruiting more volunteers to help them out on this special day! All in all it was a great success and Mayor Kaufman said it best during the proclamation signing, “I am proud that Jonestown is Pennsylvania’s first City of ONE. Each of us has a responsibility to help others in an emergency. When people are dying from diseases that can be easily cured or treated, I consider that an emergency. With the Jonestown residents, this is something I can do to help. We need to acknowledge the problems, learn about the issues and take action with the ONE Campaign.”

Jonestown joins 109 cities, 10 states and three colleges that have been declared Cities, States and Colleges of ONE across the country. Find more information on how to get your city declared a “City of ONE” here.

-Kim Smith, Regional Field Organizer