High School
Apr 25th, 2012 4:46 PM UTC
By Field
A high school student at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill., Mary Kate Vanecko shares her school’s new-found passion for ONE.
We now have a ONE chapter at my high school! We believe the issues that ONE focuses on are extremely important, especially to our generation, since we have the ability to drastically reduce HIV/AIDS and poverty. We took advantage of our school’s April 20 Earth Day Fair to introduce ONE to Loyola. We got started during the week leading up to the fair, posting flyers with the ONE logo, quotes and statistics.
The statistics really hit home. People were shocked to hear that roughly 20 percent of the world’s population lives on less than $1.25 a day. With the student body’s interest peaked, we encouraged people to check out the THRIVE petition and emphasized the importance of agriculture in diminishing the cycle of poverty. We were able to get 140 signatures in just two hours, including our school principal! By stressing ONE’s mantra “we’re not asking for your money, we’re asking for your voice,” we stood out from other clubs at our school and gained the support of students eager to make real change. With our many new members now decked out in ONE wristbands and motivated to get involved, we look forward to doing more and working together as ONE to beat extreme poverty.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with students studying global issues from Carrboro High School in Carrboro, North Carolina. The students, led by teacher and ONE member Matt Cone, have been researching politics and events around the world and will begin studying the Congo this spring. To learn more about the subject many sacrificed their lunch hour to have a discussion via Skype about ONE and creating change through advocacy.
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I recently caught up with some high school ONE members in northern Virginia who are fighting illiteracy in Africa through the service and awareness- raising group “Action Africa.” Below, Thomas Jefferson High School student Sydney Schrider tells us more about their incredible work.
Action Africa is a service club at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. We are trying to increase awareness of African issues and complete service projects at our school.
One of our ongoing projects is a pen pal relationship with a school in Bupoto, Uganda. Last year, as our big spring service project, we did literacy outreach with the Arlington Academy of Hope (AAH), a school in rural Uganda. We collected easy-reader books and recorded them on tapes, and then sent the books and tapes to the students of AAH in Bupoto.
We continue to learn about different issues, such as food security and AIDS awareness, and are working with ONE on many more events.
–Sydney Shrider, Thomas Jefferson High School, Alexandria, VA
Aug 18th, 2008 9:32 AM UTC
By Field
On Friday, August 15, ONE members from the Pembroke Pines Charter High School, located in Pembroke Pines, Florida, met with Representative Alcee Hastings (D-FL) to talk about the accomplishments of the school’s ONE chapter, which has over 150 members including students and faculty.
The passionate students, along with their teacher Ms. Danielle De Pas, spoke about how they got involved with the ONE Campaign and how they are energizing their peers to become educated about extreme poverty. The school’s charter has been so successful that the ONE movement is now spreading beyond Pembroke Pines High School into the neighboring school districts.
In response, Representative Hastings talked about the importance of engaging young people in the political process early on so that they can help make a difference for generations to come. He hopes that the upcoming election will bring an unprecedented number of young people out to vote who want their voices heard on issues such as extreme poverty.
At the end, he commended the work of the ONE Campaign and slipped on the ONE bracelet to show his support. We thanked him for cosponsoring PEPFAR (The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) and urged him to continue to support legislation that will alleviate global poverty.
The students, who are organizing a ONE event to be held at the school in January, invited the Congressman to attend and provide a few remarks. We are hopeful that he will be able to be there to show his support.
-Sara Paterni, FL Field Organizer
(Photo from left to right: Andre Riley, Rafael Batista, Rep. Alcee Hastings, Danielle DePas)
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
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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I have a lot of volunteers, all of whom are dedicated and amazing people because they give up their free time to helping the world’s poor, but every once in awhile, I meet a group that leaves me slack-jawed. Chip Huber and his students at Wheaton Academy are one such group. As a school, WA has worked with ONE-partner, World Vision, over the last six years to build a medical clinic and school in Zambia. I have always thought this was “cool”, so when Chip contacted me to come speak to his class two-week intensive “Winterim” course on poverty and social justice, I thought it would be great to meet these “kids” in person.
We talked about the Millennium Development Goals and the upcoming congressional and presidential races and how the class could make an impact. I left the school excited about helping them make their first advocacy project a reality, but when Chip sent me a link to the blogs the students had been writing I was speechless. I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite of the ten, but I found this line to be particularly powerful and in line with ONE’s mission:
I considered the possibility of presenting some perfect way to tell the world about AIDS, poverty, injustice, hunger, and water issues, but I don’t think there is one. The only way to spread this in a lasting way is one person or community at a time. I really believe it’s important (though not necessary) to have a relationship with someone in order for them to be influenced by your ideas and passions. As I’ve been writing this, I’ve realized that I’m contributing to the problem of ignorance that bugs me so much, and after being saturated with information over the past two weeks, that needs to change. –Josh Ellis
I encourage you all, especially if you are a person of faith, to read all ten student blogs – and while you’re doing so, think about the lives that will likely be saved because these inspiring students chose to take a “Winterim” on poverty and social justice and not bowling.
-Annisa Wanat
