Power 100 Wrap: Commercial Curry

February 27th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

Thanks to the students from our #5 school, Curry College in Massachusetts, for submitting this awesome commercial for their program, which is a great Power 100 Summit recap as well. Here’s the video:

-Emily Stivers

How To: Write and Submit an LTE

February 27th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

We’re doing our best to get you info on how to qualify for a chance at our Africa trip, but might not have the official announcement today due to some legal red-tape. Anyway we did want to give you a heads’ up that writing a Letter to the Editor (LTE) might, just might be on the list of individual action points we’ll be adding up to pick the 20 students invited to compete for the trip. Since a lot of you don’t have much experience with LTEs, and might not have a lot of time between when we announce the actions and when the deadline will be, here are some tips on LTE-writing from ONE’s Media Coordinator, Chandler Smith:

An LTE is a great way to educate your friends and neighbors about ONE and the issues we are working hard to address. Opportunities to write letters are endless, and if you read your newspaper with this in mind, you will begin to find ideas for an LTE. However, actually getting your letter published can be more challenging, so here are a few tips to give you the best chance.

First and foremost: think like a journalist. Newspaper editors, even at local levels, are bombarded with information daily. If you present an LTE that provides a relevant storyline for the newspaper, you will drastically increase your chances of being published. Bring your issue to the forefront and clearly explain why it is important to the newspaper’s readers. How does it relate to the audience? ONE is full of compelling messages, your job when writing an LTE is conveying that message to your specific readers.

You can do this by focusing on your local papers. Considering that you are a local, you know those newspapers and their readers best, so you can write a more persuasive LTE for that particular audience. In addition, stay relevant and timely by relating your LTE to an article, editorial, or another LTE that recently appeared in the paper you are writing to. It will never hurt to reference the paper in which you are trying to be published.

Second, but no less importantly, be polite and intelligent. The editor will be looking for both tone and substance when deciding which LTEs to publish. Therefore, take a stance, but avoid appearing shrill or insulting. Use solid facts and figures wherever possible, but be sure to cite them and use reliable sources (your field representative can help you with these). If you lack specific credentials, such as a related experience or degree, strong information can provide credibility. However, if you have related credentials, acknowledge them in addition to your facts. And of course, end strong. Finish the LTE with the idea that you most want readers to remember, such as the broader point that the specific details in your letter illustrate.

Finally, proofread and email your LTEs to the newspaper. Be sure to address them to the editor and to include your name, address, phone number and signature (the newspaper won’t publish this information, but they may want to contact you to verify information or inform you that your letter will be published). Check out the opinion page to find the correct email address. And don’t forget to have fun! This is your chance to spread ONE’s message across a larger audience. Don’t underestimate the impact you can have. Good luck, and send us your LTEs that get published!

-Chandler Smith, ONE Media Coordinator

You can get 1000 points for an LTE published in your campus paper, 1800 points for a local publication, and an amazing 10,000 points if you can clear a major publication such as The New York Times or the Washington Post. If you’re not sure which category your publication falls into, you can contact us.

Remember that your LTE must get published in order to count for OCC, so start submitting your letters now! And check back here on the OCC blog for more news about the Africa trip.

-Emily Stivers

Power 100 Wrap: Minnesota Steps It Up

February 26th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

The 2nd Annual Power 100 Summit was a great success with many speakers that helped student leaders like myself learn that we can make a difference by strengthening our own grassroots efforts that we hold dear to our hearts. Many of the speakers were very confident that we can still move forward with aid and helping our world’s poorest people. This is something that will help strengthen our own economy and help make a difference around the world.

As the COA for Minnesota and Iowa, I take large pride in 3 of the schools that made the top 100 this year (Luther College, Iowa State University, and the University of Iowa.) As a Minnesota boy from the Twin Cities, “Minnesota Step it Up.”

You may be wondering how all 100 student leaders were able to afford to travel to Washington DC. The answer is it was absolutely free no strings attached, just peer advocacy training so that student leaders have something to bring back to their colleges and build a stronger ONE Chapter. And of course we had a blast ice skating, walking around DC during free time, and of course 100 college students all in a hotel…I don’t think I have to say any more!

The best part of the entire summit this year, in my opinion, was being able to do what we all do best, lobby on the Hill! This was a great learning experience for those that have never met with staff or their member of Congress. It was a great time to emphasize the MDG’s and how important these goals are to the success of the world.

I would just like to say it is not to late to become involved in doing what you can to make your voice heard in Washington to end global poverty and preventable disease. No matter if you are in the top 100 schools or not, we all have the ability to make change in this world. I urge you all to become involved as much as you can to help make POVERTY HISTORY!

Peace!

-Steven Thai, Luther College

Power 100 Wrap: We Got Rhythym

February 26th, 2009 at 1:48 pm

Morgan Cunningham from Texas Tech captured some of the best moments from the Power 100 Summit (including an impromptu acapella performance from Hanson!) and set them to an awesome beat. Check out the video:

-Emily Stivers

Holy Point-Jumping, Batman!

February 25th, 2009 at 3:39 pm

You may have noticed some HUGE jumps on the Leaderboard today. But don’t worry, there’s no monkey business, nobody’s cheating.

We had a kink with our petitions, including our recent Zimbabwe action, that was keeping you all from getting your 500 points per signature. Well we just ironed out the kink, and the result was a flood of points for schools that have been working hard on getting those petition signatures over the last few months.

We also realized, when we were compiling our list of “individual actions” that you all can do to qualify for the top 20 individual students who will be considered for the Africa trip, that you weren’t getting any points for recruiting new members – when you “invite” people through your campus page, you get 10 points, but you get nothing if the people you invite actually sign up. Well that doesn’t make sense at all! We want you to invite people who are actually going to sign up, of course, so you ought to get points for when they do.

This is something we should have corrected at the start of the season but somehow it fell through the cracks. So we fixed it today, and awarded you all 100 points per recruit like you should have been getting all along. For some of you who have been working hard at recruiting since September, this added up to a lot of points!

So it’s all legit. If you have questions, feel free to contact us or post a comment here on this blog entry and we’ll get back to ya.

Meanwhile, we’re working hard to get you more info about how to qualify for the Africa trip. It’s taking longer than expected because we’re trying to close every possible loophole to prevent cheating, and we want to set up some transparency so you know how you’re doing.

Keep checking the blog for updates!

-Emily Stivers

Power 100 Wrap: An Amazing Cause

February 25th, 2009 at 10:57 am

When people ask how my trip to D.C. went, the only word I can think of to describe the Power 100 Summit is AMAZING!

But I wish I could think of a better word because it was so much more than that. It was inspiring, exhilarating, educational, and, well . . . amazing.

As speaker after speaker came to the podium, I found it increasingly difficult to distinguish which I enjoyed the most. I wanted to become a part of every single organization that presented and only hoped that someday I could be as inspiring as they were.

I came back to California determined to spread even more awareness, determined to make ONE an established presence at UC Davis, and determined to do everything in my power to make poverty history.

I could never say which part of the Summit was my favorite, but for me, it was a reminder that this is what I want to do forever. It reminded me that I was committed to the cause, and if reminded me to never give up on that cause. I must remember that no matter how poor I may be, there will always be those more poor than I that deserve my help and I am determined to help the world’s poorest with ONE.

-Trena Riley, University of California, Davis

Photo of the Week: UT-San Antonio Snaps the Power 100

February 24th, 2009 at 3:55 pm

The guy snapping everybody’s pictures at the Power 100 Summit was Hassan Barzani from the University of Texas in San Antonio, so it’s fitting that he should win our Photo of the Week 1,000-point prize. This group shot was taken at the end of the Summit on Sunday, and all those present had a lot of fun posing for it.

The UT-San Antonio Road Runners have been running up the Leaderboard steadily thanks to Hassan’s photo submissions, and we’re expecting great things from them next year. Great work, Hassan!

-Emily Stivers

Power 100 Wrap: Be Heard.

February 24th, 2009 at 1:18 pm

What do Lauren Bush, Senator Dick Durbin, boy-band Hanson, “E.R.” star Anthony Edwards, and Ambassador Mark Green have in common? They all addressed extraordinarily important and pressing issues at the Power 100 Summit. But they also did something incredible: they asked for our help. They didn’t ask for our money. Like ONE, they asked for our voices, and more importantly, our ideas.

I’m 20 years old, and for many of those years, I’ve been lectured to. I speak my mind and lead projects on my own, and by no means am I intimidated by anyone older than myself. But rarely am I asked, as one person to another, what I really think about complex initiatives. The fact that these professionals, activists, and entrepreneurs sincerely asked for the input of the top poverty-fighting students and promised to adopt so many of our suggestions blew me away.

We all knew our ideas were valuable – we just didn’t think they could be applied so quickly to these innovative programs. That’s what I’ve taken away from the Power 100 Summit; not just the friends I’ve made or the bruises I gained while ice skating (trying to, at least), but the reassurance that any input is valuable input, and that with the right audience, our ideas aren’t going to go unnoticed. I’ve applied this simple notion and it’s always in the forefront of my mind.

So if you’re hesitant to speak out or meet with your member of Congress, mayor, religious leader, or even a friend, don’t hesitate. They’ll listen to you, and your passion shines through everything else.

-Mike Fazzino, Sacred Heart University

The Weather’s Still Cold, but the Competition’s Heating Up

February 24th, 2009 at 11:11 am

Anyone keeping a close eye on the leaderboard this week has surely witnessed that last great scramble for points… and it’s only Tuesday. Every campus with the “Most Points This Week” has 10,000+ and there are more than a few campuses just outside of the Top 10 looking to sneak in. The OCC Team hasn’t quite been able to figure out if you guys are vying for those five spots on the OCC Trip to Africa (more details to come!) or if you’re gunning for a spot in the Top 10 to compete for the #1 spot (and our as-yet unannounced prize for that) but one thing is for sure – you guys are not messing around.

We’re announcing our Top 10 Campuses next week, and they’ll be receiving $1000 grants to fund their own poverty awareness-raising projects on their campuses. The points get wiped clean once they’re in the Top 10 and every campus is in equal contention for our awesome Grand Prize, which is secret for now, but trust me, you want it. So take one last look at our points page for a couple more ways to boost your school’s numbers. They range from quick and easy to more demanding to all-out creative, so see what strikes your fancy and take some actions!

-Maisie Pigeon

Power 100 Wrap: Taking It to the Streets

February 23rd, 2009 at 6:13 pm

The final challenge for the Top 10 schools will involve taking over our campuses with ONE: making sure that every Wolverine, Trojan, Gator, etc. knows about the issues and our goals. In my time in Washington D.C., the most meaningful part was seeing that for the weekend, it seemed as though ONE had taken over.

After an inspiring speech by late-night talk show host Jake Sasseville, we took to the streets, many of us still in ONE gear, to see the sites. The chance to meet so many campus leaders, coupled with hysterical group pictures made for an incredible kick-off to the Summit.

At one point, my legs started failing me after a long day of walking in the city, and I fell to the back of the group. Instead of finding my eyes fixated on the monuments or memorials, I couldn’t look away from our group. An overwhelming sense of pride came over me when I realized who I was surrounded by: the Power 100 Summit brought together the nation’s most influential and passionate student leaders, and I was honored to be there.

In this moment, for me, the ONE Campaign become more than just that group that Bono started to fight global poverty. I realized that I was a part of something bigger than myself, bigger than the University of Michigan, and bigger than any of us can ever comprehend.

Walking around Washington D.C. that first night was the event that sparked a fire in me and propelled me through the rest of the weekend. I feel so honored to work with the amazing staff and students of this campaign, and am already looking forward to our next interaction.

Thanks for a great weekend, everyone! A special shout-out to Bridget Blair from DePauw for organizing our night on the town!

-Stephanie Parrish, University of Michigan