Caps to our Nation’s Capital; Frist to a TN School

On Tuesday, May 5, Save the Children and Doctor and Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist visited our school to launch the 2008 State of the Worlds’ Mothers Report. Who would think that learning to knit would bring so much excitement? Not the first second and third graders in Cordova, TN at Lamplighter Montessori School who knitted infant caps for Save the Children’s Caps to the Capital campaign!

Our students knitted the caps and sent them to Save the Children. Then they were invited to D.C to lobby with Save the Children. This week our school was chosen as The United States launch site for the 2008 report. Bright and early on Tuesday morning our students went on TV to promote awareness of the report. Later in the day, Senator Frist visited the school to talk about the simple and inexpensive ways children’s lives can be saved; warm caps for infants, hand washing, clean water and immunizations. The students showed Senator Frist the caps they had knitted in anticipation of another “Caps to the Capital” campaign.

Our Middle School students presented Save the Children, Senator Frist, Shelby County Mayor A. C. Wharton and ONE with student paintings to show our appreciation for the work being done to help children all over the world reach their first birthday.

-Terrie Sampson, Head of School, Lamplighter Montessori School

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Congratulations Western Kentucky U!

Since September, more than 1,400 college campuses have been battling it out in the ONE Campus Challenge. In the end, one school was unstoppable.

Western Kentucky University beat out the competition by recruiting almost 3,000 students to ONE, writing letters and placing calls to members of Congress and effectively reaching out to the Bowling Green community to join the movement.

On Tuesday night, ONE brought the bands Army of Me and Georgie James to the campus for a free concert. Lots of local news, like the WKU Herald and local TV station WBKO covered the event.

The WKU Herald quotes ONE student organizer Matt Vaughan:

“Way to go, Hilltoppers,” Vaughan said. “3,000 people at Western are now signed up (for the ONE Campaign). That’s an accomplishment no other university could match.” Vaughan said he was happy to sit back and enjoy the concert, but there was still work to be done to end world poverty.

“The spirit of change is alive and well here at WKU,” he said. “For years to come we’re going to have to keep rocking the movement. We can do this and we will do it.”

And WBKO ran this interview with Vaughan Tuesday night.

Note his quote:

“We beat out schools like Princeton and George Washington, all these schools that are known for being globally engaged and active. We showed that you don’t have to go to a rich and elite school in the East Coast to make a difference in this world, everyone can make a difference,” said Matt Vaughan, WKU student organizer.

Congratulations WKU! We can’t wait to see what you guys do next.

Menendez Monday

Great report back from Ross of SetonHall University of ONE students and members lobbying Senator Robert Menendez last Monday.

“Last week the luck of the Irish was with the ONE Campaign. New Jersey members of ONE and our partner organization CARE met with Senator Robert Menendez to discuss his support for several anti-poverty bills going through Congress. For my part in the meeting I thanked the senator for co-sponsoring and voting for the Biden/Lugar amendment to the FY09 international affairs budget which, as many of you might know, restored $4.1 billion dollars…”

Read the rest on the ONE Campus Challenge Blog.

Libertyville becomes 1st ONE High School Today

Compassion has flooded the hallways of Libertyville High School in Illinois. I and my fellow students are taking action for the fight against disease and poverty and today, on March 19, our school will become the first official “ONE High School” at the same time Libertyville becomes an official “ONE City.”

Next month, we’re organizing a massive community benefit concert that will take place on April 18, 2008 at the high school’s field house. Just like the roots of the ONE Campaign, this started as just a few students’ idea and has grown into a movement.

What inspires me the most is how quick more students are to join. Our group continues to grow and we’ve already signed up more than 580 new members in just two days of tabling. Between our school and town, the Libertyville community is truly taking on to the idea that we all can come together as ONE community to change the world.

-Ryan Steel, ONE member and LHS senior, Libertyville, IL

A Class Act

Some of you may remember the posts earlier this year describing the work of teacher Matt Cone at Rock Bridge High School. Well, Matt continues to do amazing work with his students and this week the seniors in his Contemporary Issues class had the unique experience of talking with the First Lady via video conference.

Many of the questions posed dealt with the President and Mrs. Bush’s recent trip to Africa, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the work that ONE and other NGOs are doing to help the world’s poor. As if talking to the First Lady was not cool enough, the students wore ONE shirts to emphasize their commitment to ending global poverty and disease.

Check out some of the student comments about the experience after the jump.

-Katie Andrews, Field Organizer (KS, OH, MI, MO, WV)

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Our Top Ten List

Since September, campuses across the country have been creating ONE chapters and spurring global poverty action as part of the ONE Campus Challenge (OCC).

In just 12 hours after launching OCC, 1000 ONE Chapters were formed. Today, there are now more than 1,400 student-led ONE groups covering all 50 states.

Throughout the competition, colleges earned points for actions - like hosting speaking events, creating public displays on campus that raise awareness, contacting members of Congress and overall recruitment. All in all, these students made more than 10,000 calls to Congress, 2,000 calls to presidential candidates, provided needed support for the Jubilee Act, and successfully helped urge the IMF to honor their promise to provide debt relief to Liberia.

Finally, late last week Erin and Weldon announced the top ten point-earning schools:

Brandeis University; Campbellsville University; George Washington University; Hofstra University; Kansas State University; Princeton University; Sacred Heart University; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Western Kentucky University; and Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio.

Each of these schools are receiving a $1,000 grant from ONE to craft their own poverty advocacy project.

I’m looking forward to learning how they use them - and will let you know when I do.

-Virginia Simmons

Live From New York!

Tonight, I have the pleasure of live blogging live from the Apollo theater where the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), MTV and ONE are hosting “Giving” - a roundtable discussion on youth activism.

At the event - we’ll officially launch the ONE Campus Challenge - although we did go out of our way to leak it to our members and blog readers beforehand:)

The event’s set to start at 9 but a bunch of us ONE loyalist have been here for hours making sure to get the word about ONE out to the more than 1,000 young people attending.

In a moment I’ll post a few great shots of the crew and crowd. Even as I sit here, I see more and more people in ONE shirts walking by.

Cougars Campaign Count Up by 200

Last Friday College of Charleston held its first event as an official ONE Campus. Despite less than perfect weather and a bomb threat that essentially closed down half the campus, we talked to and signed up more than 200 students who expressed serious interest in our campaign to end poverty and AIDS.

From the very first mention of bringing the ONE Campaign to the campus, I, a student ONE Vote ‘08 staff member, have been constantly surprised by the interest fellow students have shown. Hopefully, we as Cougars can set an example for other colleges around the state and continue to make good things happen!

-Jesse Pruitt, SC ONE Volunteer Coordinator

Intern From the Comfort of Your Own Campus!

Below a note to students from ONE Student Youth Outreach Coordinator, Erin Eagan.

Welcome back to school!

We are looking for students who can help out ONE from their campus this school year. In order to apply for an unpaid internship with ONE, you will need to send your resume and cover letter to resumes@one.org. The cover letter should include: why you are interested in the position, what outreach experience you have, how many hours a week you are willing to commit (we recommend 10-15 hours) and any other pertinent information. Applications are due by September 15, 2007.

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Not Your Average Joe

You may have heard about a City of ONE or State of ONE, but did you know that there are ONE Campuses as well? Other ONE Vote staffers and I have been reaching out to the schools in South Carolina to show their support for the global fight against poverty by declaring themselves as ONE Campuses. I spoke to Joe Chen, the president of the University of South Carolina’s Graduate Student Association, about rallying his fellow students for this purpose.

Joe has been an active member of ONE (as the ONE poster he has on his office wall will quickly show you), so he was immediately excited about the prospect. The fall semester is about to begin at USC, and Joe will be meeting with his fellow officers to see what they can do to get the ball rolling and get other clubs and students involved in the ONE Campaign on campus. With a student population nearly 28,000 strong, USC would be another great symbol of ONE’s broad support and respect.

It is no secret that the younger generation is widely disillusioned with U.S. politics, but we have found them consistently to be among ONE’s most enthusiastic supporters. In an age of bitter partisanship divide, we are sending the message that some issues are simply too important to play politics with.

If you would like to know more about becoming a ONE Campus, contact ONE’s Student Outreach Coordinator, Erin Eagan.

- Mekell Mikell, SC ONE Vote