Photo(s) of their Week

February 18th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

College of Charleston pulled off quite a feat for their final push before the competition narrows to the Top 10: they mad e ONE the official homecoming theme.

For a solid week no one on campus could avoid their groups message of joining together to fight extreme poverty. It’s not surprising that they captured some sweet pictures along the way.

On Campus Activities

February 17th, 2008 at 9:37 am

Wilmington College (Wilmington, OH) didn’t win the “On Campus Educational Project” with these, but I was asked to blog about them.

The first thing we did is a really easy, interactive way to spread the word about the ONE Campaign. I folded sheets of construction paper in half and put a huge question mark and the words “Did you know” on the front. On the inside, I wrote a statistic about world hunger and poverty. It’s more unique than just posters or flyers because people get intrigued and then they go to read the inside…not knowing what they’ll find. The idea was to shock people with statistics and inspire them to get more involved to make a change in the world.

Pictures of the “Did You Know” cards are on Flickr.com with the tags “WILMTONOH” and “ONE.” Click here to check out the set.

The second thing we worked on is a game called Worldopoly. Obviously, it is modeled off Monopoly, but we used the GDPs of all the countries in the world to make a ratio that directly related them to the values on a traditional monopoly board. For railroads, we used the four highest grossing oil producers in the world. For the “Water Works” property, we substituted a new well for the community, and for the “Electric Company” property, we substituted yearly vaccinations for the community.

Click here to check it out on Flickr.

In addition to these projects, we also set up a table in Pyle and asked people to take short quizzes about poverty. When they were finished, we gave them a fact sheet with the answers and information on how to get involved with ONE.

-Caitlin Reed

Some Freakin Awesome Movies

February 14th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

Movies are a great way to spread awareness and get more people on your campus involved in the fight against extreme poverty. We’ve heard for lots of you guys that you could use a good list of movies you should show on your campus, so here ya go:

Documentaries/Unrated Movies

A Closer Walk (2005) Full-length film on the global AIDS crisis. Explores the relationship between health, human rights, and outlines the need for global action. Narrated by Glenn Close and Will Smith. Includes interviews with widely recognized figures such as the Dalai Lama and singer Bono. Director: Robert Bilheimer

The Girl in the Cafe (2005) Two people meet in a café and attend the G8 Summit together, romance blooms. Their goals at the summit are contradictory. Good movie for information on the Millennium Development Goals. Starring: Kelly Macdonald, Bill Nighy. Director: David Yates.

Life and Debt (2001) Documentary on the affects of IMF, World Bank, and other international organizations work in Jamaica. Author Jamaica Kincaid narrates with Belinda Becker to a reggae soundtrack that includes songs by Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Mutubaruka and Peter Tosh. Starring: Jamaica Kincaid, Belinda Becker. Director: Stephanie Black.

Bamako (2006) A village in Africa puts on a mock trail against the World Bank for crimes against the village. Danny Glover produces. Starring: Aissa Maiga, Maimouna Helene Diarra. Director: Abderrahmane Sissako. Some parts in foreign language with English subtitles.

3 Needles (2005) Documents the spread of AIDS in Asia, Africa and North America through the lives of three people affected by the disease. Starring: Stockard Channing, Lucy Liu and Sandra Oh. Director: Thom Fitzgerald.

Mainstream/Rated Movies

Yesterday (2004) A mother in an African village finds out she is HIV positive and stuggles with how it affects her husband and daughter. Starring: Leleti Khumalo, Lihle Mvelase. Director: Darrell Roodt. English subtitles. Rated R for pervasive strong violence.

Hotel Rwanda (2005) The story of an ordinary man in Rwanda who uses the hotel he manages to save more than 1,000 refugees. Starring Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte and Joaquin Phoenix. Director: Terry George. Some with have English subtitles. Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and brief strong language.

The Constant Gardener (2005) A British man in Africa discovers shocking evidence of the horrible consequences of some of his country’s actions. Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz. Director: Fernando Meirelles. Some parts with English subtitles. Rated R for language, some violent images and sexual content/nudity.

Blood Diamond (2006) A diamond smuggler and a local fisherman’s paths meet in their separate struggles for the “good life” and results in their taking on the diamond industry’s practices in Sierra Leone. Starring: Djimon Hounsou, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly. Director: Edward Zwick. Rated R for strong violence and language.

Watch Online

A Growing Hunger, PBS NOW. This 20-minute episode outlines how US cotton subsidies has a negative impact on Burkina Faso. Watch online at http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/310/index.html.

The Shirts On Our Backs…

February 13th, 2008 at 11:13 pm

They came bearing gifts. Jamie and Justine, that is. Those who attended the Power 100 will certainly remember them; but they trekked all the way up to Connecticut to Sacred Heart University to deliver our weekly challenge prize. The prize was 100 custom ONE T-shirts that one of our own members designed. The coolest part is that they are all made by Edun Live, the company started by Bono’s wife that makes their shirts from 100% African cotton. In the short time we’ve had the shirts, we’ve been the most stylish poverty fighters on campus and are raising quite a demand for them! Thanks again to ONE for the amazing gift; and we made a special video JUST for Weldon and Erin to say thank you! Huzzah!

To Africa!

February 13th, 2008 at 3:35 pm

Hopefully you all have already gotten the email asking you to take action, but just want to remind you here that President Bush is heading to Africa this week – and we’re ask the presidential candidates to pledge to do the same when they get into office.

You’ll get 500 points for signing the petition, and for the final challenge, that might just be the boost you need to get over the top.  So sign the petition and tell your friends to do the same: 

http://www.one.org/visitafrica/

Make Your Own OCC Facebook Application

February 12th, 2008 at 3:35 pm

We’ve heard from a ton of you that we should come up with some ways to better use Facebook for the Campus Challenge. It didn’t take us very long to think up the first step: make something powered by U.

I’ve made a simple template Facebook application that you can customize for your campus. Once people install the application there will be a box installed in their profile that will allow their friends to sign up with the Campus Challenge and for you to post updates on the latest meetings and activities.

Here’s what you need to do to install the application:

1. Download the instruction packet (PDF) .
2. Download the template application code.
3. Follow the step by step instructions, you’ll have your own Facebook application in just a few minutes.

Leave comments to let me know what you think and any ideas you have about how we can better use social networks for the Campus Challenge.

INFUSED – Get informed, be an influence

February 12th, 2008 at 11:32 am

With resources at hand (go ONEVote 08’s – On the Record) the ONE Campaign at Drexel was able to progressively make a stand at a concert held by a small community in Northeast Philadelphia. The concert turned out 350-500 people and so many of them were excited during the waiting period and intermission about the causes at hand. With the Global Child Survival Act coming up the Drexel ONE decided to partner with Fusion Ministries and create a platform for it. We created a petition attached to a letter for people to sign and after the main guest for the evening spoke on sanitation and clean water for all, you can imagine how many more people were thrilled to advocate with us as well! Other than the petition we did create a brochure that included all the issues and each candidates stand on the issues which we heard such postive feedback on from everyone who picked one up! To go hand in had with that was an opportunity to register to vote – which just in case they hadn’t done before, could do so at the moment.  ONE and members of ONE have the promise of continuing to work with Fusion at their monthly meetings which turns out almost 150 people. And more than anything else – it is exciting because these are people around the college- age which promotes the ONE Campus Challenge. Hopefully more schools in the Illy Philly region will be motivated to taking up the campus initiative! 

If that wasn’t enough for Lake Forest –

February 12th, 2008 at 11:14 am

Sarah Jones the OCC leader at Lake Forest has led her school to a great victory in the fact that – the great state of Illinois has signed a proclamation declaring it a ONE state. Pretty exciting -

 And it doesn’t stop there - Sarah met with IMAGE Magazine in Chicago, and they want to support the ONE Campaign. They want to use the ONE logo and different charity partners in relation to the ONE Campaign as the benefactors of their events – which is pretty awesome considering they have 2-6 a week. They’re even going to get sponsor donations – which is also phenomenal because the minimum is usually $2,000. Go Lake Forest and go Sarah- they’re targeting Chicago with a passion and its an amazing thing to witness.

Go Lake Forest!

February 12th, 2008 at 11:01 am

So this is what Sarah Jones of Lake Forest had to say to everyone who attended the event to raise money for an organization that provides mosquito nets and insecticide sprayings to poor villages for the defeat of Malaria:
“THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! To all of you who took the time to lend your voice to a cause that hopefully will be passed on the 14th!!! You are showing your support so that your state representative will support this bill and 10 million children will be saved annually! BLESS YOU ALL!!!
As for you guys who donated! WOW!
I haven’t counted all the money yet! But your generous donations resulted in over 400 dollars! which means in one night you save over 40 people!!!!!!!!!!
The love for humanity, the generosity, the empowerment of yourselves through knowledge that all of you demonstrated tonight is a true indicator of how strong we are as a generation. I know that global poverty (meaning people dying of poverty, ….not the notion of just being poor) can be eradicated in 20 years! It is a fact. However, having faith that we would all witness this in our lifetime is something hard to maintain.
Tonight you have given us all hope. I know I personally can say that we are the generation that will eradicate global poverty! YOU GUYS HAVE ALL SHOWN THAT!!!! Thank you to all the wonderful members of ONE who volunteered their time and effort! If you see the beautiful faces of those you interacted with today…Thank them please!
As for all of you- Bless you. Gandhi once said “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Tonight i beared witness to the fact, that all of you simply are that change. Bless you. LETS KEEP MAKING THIS WORLD ROCK WITH EVERY STEP WE TAKE, AND LET THE MOVEMENT OF THE EARTH THAT WE SHAKE, CREATE AN EVEN BETTER WORLD WITH EACH STEP!!!!!!!!!
I AM PERSONALLY SO VERY HUMBLED BY THE BEAUTY I WITNESSED TO NIGHT!!!! THIS IS WHAT BEAUTY IS!!! THANK YOU! BLESS YOU!!! AND YOU SHOUlD ALL BE BEYOND PROUD OF WHAT YOU HAVE ACHIEVED IN ONE NIGHT!!!! ROCK ON!!!! (We will be doing table and accepting donation this monday, and friday, as well as next monday outside the cafeteria).”

Check out pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericlabrat/sets/72157603851518922/

Western Kentucky Is Everywhere

February 11th, 2008 at 3:49 pm

Not only did they just win the weekly challenge, it looks like Western Kentucky University recruited 327 people in the last week.  That means that in the last two weeks they have accounted for a total of 601 new ONE members.  That’s amazing.

The rest of the top ten better watch their backs. With schools like Western Kentucky surging like this folks places like Brandeis (15 recruits this week) and Wilmington (only 3 new people this week) no one’s place in the top ten is secure.