OCC Lessons: People Will Listen

March 23rd, 2009 at 2:27 pm

My experience with ONE and the OCC has been incredibly rewarding. I have been a supporter of ONE since I first learned of the organization at the U2 concert on Oahu, Hawaii in 2006. U2 is my favorite band, and their music has greatly affected my life, so when they announced their gig in Hawaii I just had to go. Being the Maui girl I am, it was my first ever concert.

I am a student member of Amnesty International and had volunteered for AI at the concert, collecting signatures in support of human rights. ONE had a booth next to us, and I wandered over to see what it was about and meet the people staffing the booth. ONE’s mission statement truly reflects what I feel passionate about. Since the concert, I have been wearing the ONE wristband, signed my name to the ONE Declaration, and discussed ONE with friends and family. I wondered if I could do more to help.

That was the start.

I heard of the ONE Campus Challenge in the summer of 2008. It was a great opportunity to bring ONE to Maui Community College and to Maui as a whole.

On campus and in my community, I worked from a grassroots approach. I met new people and discovered that if you are dedicated to something, people will listen to what you have to say. Many people offered to help in any way they could.

Every event I held in conjunction with the ONE Campaign was a great learning experience. For “ONE Vote ‘08” I went to the Maui County State building to take a class to become a deputy voter registrar, my first year of being able to vote and register new voters. My first experience working directly with the Maui Food Bank was helping a neighbor island in turmoil, Molokai, while gathering attention for ONE. I also helped my group on campus to volunteer for Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF.

The events were successful and the food drive was featured in our local newspaper, The Maui News, and in one of our island’s leading independent newspapers, The Maui Weekly. I even had the opportunity to make an announcement on Maui community television, and I used that time to speak about ONE and encourage people to sign the Declaration. I discovered how accepting my community was when it came to positive energy.

Along the way, I met many community leaders and local government officials. ONE also helped me through its guides on how to advocate efficiently and effectively.

The highlight of my activity with ONE was when I had the opportunity to meet President Barack Obama’s sister, Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, when she visited Maui to give a speech in support of her brother. It was really amazing. I gave her a letter I wrote about the ONE Campaign, and she wrote a personal letter in return, in support of ONE and my volunteer efforts. It was great encouragement.

It was so rewarding to see our little school, or rather, our little island make it to the top 100 in the nation. Unfortunately, I couldn’t attend the Power 100 Summit this year, but I plan to continue working for ONE and hopefully attend next year’s conference.

ONE has truly reinforced the meaning of altruism in my life, and I am thankful to be a part of such a wonderful movement.

-Caitlin Harrowby, Maui Community College

This entry is part of a series of student submissions on “What I Learned From OCC This Year.” Click here for more info.

OCC Lessons: Live Together, Die Alone

March 23rd, 2009 at 10:08 am

It is hard to choose one thing, or even a few things, that I learned from the ONE Campus Challenge. I’m sure everyone else is struggling with this as well, which kind of makes my point.

You are not alone. I am not alone. We are together in this. Live Together, Die Alone. (Can you tell I’m a Lost fan?)

For the last two years I have been a campus leader, once at a community college and now at a university branch campus. Since I chose to go to school in “unconventional” places (and by this I mean I am not at a major University like many OCC participants), I have had a lot of trouble getting people interested in ONE. At a commuter campus like mine, everyone is extremely focused on school; it’s very much a “go to school, go home” campus. I started to get frustrated when people didn’t want to sign up when I would table, and I got really frustrated when no one showed up at the meeting I scheduled. I was pretty down in the dumps about it. And then I got the invite to the Power 100 Summit.

The Summit changed a lot of things for me. My roommate, a newbie to the Campus Challenge, was already in the Top Ten (and still is – GO BLUE!) and inspired me. I knew I could make things happen if I just tried, because I was watching her do it. I was also really inspired by conversations I had with other people. Some of them were experiencing the same thing I was experiencing, which surprised me because most of the people I talked to went to universities where people lived on campus – I had assumed that if people lived on campus, they would want to get involved. But hearing the stories of others also helped me. I realized I was not alone, which is how I had been feeling for the past few months.

At the end of the Summit, when I was taking pictures with people and saying goodbye, I felt ready to go home and tackle things. I was sad to leave, but knew that things would be better. Unfortunately, when I got home, they weren’t better. I still have only 16 student members, and still, no one will show up at meetings.

Every time something bad happens though, I think of the Summit. I think of the people I sat with at dinner, the girl I shared a room with, the ones I got lost in the city with, and I remember – I am not alone. We are together in this. Every blog post; Facebook note; ONE email reminds me of this. United we stand!

-Melissa Boles, Washington State University – Vancouver

This entry is part of a series of student submissions on “What I Learned From OCC This Year.” Click here for more info.

Time to Remind

March 20th, 2009 at 9:38 am

Hey OCCers,

Just a little reminder that OCC’s point system is going to shut down after THIS SUNDAY. We’ll tabulate the points for individual actions and figure out which 20 of you will be invited to apply for OCC’s trip to Africa this summer. While OCC still has a lot going on between now and May 1, we’ll be done counting points. Think of it as the points system and the leader board going on Summer Break a couple weeks early.

We’re going to re-work the points system – add some new stuff, take some other stuff out that you guys didn’t use. (Please feel free to give us suggestions – we love us some feedback.) The points system is set to open back up in the middle of August, right around when most of you guys are getting back to school. Points you earn from this time on (which we will announce on the blog or through an email), even though it’s before our official launch, will count towards your campus’s points total for OCC 09/10.

Of course, poverty doesn’t run on the semester break schedule. Don’t worry – there are still tons of ways to help. ONE will still send out petitions and calls to action that we of course want your help with. They’ll just be out of your passion for ending global poverty and disease rather than earning points to land your campus in the top 10.

-Maisie Pigeon

The Rankings: Top 40 Individuals, 3/19/09

March 19th, 2009 at 4:21 pm

This is the last time we’re posting the standings before the deadline — Sunday, March 22nd at midnight PST. That means you only have 3 days to shake up this table. Get those actions in!

The top 20 as of midnight PST on Sunday will be invited to submit projects; top 5 best project submitters get the trip to Africa (which now is looking more like July/August, not May as previously mentioned — we’re working on it and should have the details finalized next week!).

We’ll announce the final, official top 20 next Tuesday, but here’s the current leaderboard:

1 Nick Stevens, Webster University, 100565
2 Justin Kralemann, Baylor University, 57035
3 Tomas Moreno, Wofford College, 49810
4 Mike Fazzino, Sacred Heart University, 48850
5 Andrea Netti, Southern Methodist University, 47440
6 Hassan Barzani, University of Texas at San Antonio, 46750
7 Rachel Berman-Vaporis, Brandeis University, 33500
8 Kelly Wynveen, Clark University, 30240
9 Mike Weidman, Wilmington College, 27825
10 Jessica Beckner, Indiana University, 25730
11 Stephanie Parrish, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 21725
12 Eric Mayle, Missouri State University, 21575
13 Audrey Ruark, Kennesaw State University, 20895
14 Erin Burke, Sacred Heart University, 18140
15 Harpreet Kaur, Saint John’s University, Jamaica New York, 18035
16 Bryant Shannon, University of Florida, 17550
17 Christie Fleming, Franciscan University of Steubenville, 14510
18 Steven Thai, Luther College, 14465
19 Genevieve Gearity, Emerson College, 13280
20 Caitlin Harrowby, Maui Community College, 12755
21 Olivia Durning, Sacred Heart University, 10540
22 Victoria Roman, George Washington University, 10100
23 Melissa Boles, Washington State University – Vancouver, 9820
24 Rachel Cope, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 9760
25 Leah Richards, Sacred Heart University, 8940
26 Caitlin Hillman, University of Iowa, 8490
27 Ebey Soman, Saint John’s University, Jamaica New York, 8300
28 Melissa Salomoni, University of Connecticut, 8180
29 Charlie Harris, Western Kentucky University, 7990
30 Thomas Ginn, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 7510
31 Amanda Francini, Sacred Heart University, 7190
32 Stephen Muse, George Washington University, 6710
33 Ross Joy, Seton Hall University, 6690
34 Alex Schmidt, Baylor University, 6600
35 Lynne Guey, University of Florida, 5950
36 Chelsey Jonason, DePauw University, 5670
37 William Burton, Morehead State University, 5370
38 Lindsay Barr, Roger Williams University, 5160
39 Stefani Morones, Loyola Marymount University, 5100
40 Chris Flores, Colorado State University, 5050

For the full list of individual actions that count towards this contest, click here.

-Emily Stivers

Baylor Bands Reality Star

March 19th, 2009 at 1:46 pm

Baylor seems to be packing ONE with them wherever they go! Never missing an opportunity to spread awareness about ONE, Baylor’s very own Ayesha Mahmood had the opportunity to band Renee Olstead from the hit TV Sitcom “Still Standing” on an airplane on her way to Michigan during Spring Break. Olstead has recorded five albums and she is also starring in “The Secret Life of an American Teenager.”

Along with her acting and musical career, Olstead also has a passion for fighting extreme poverty. Olstead told Baylor’s ONE member she recently traveled to South America on a mission trip and was excited to jump on with ONE!

Last Chance To Ask The AU

March 18th, 2009 at 10:21 am

Last chance to sign the Zimbabwe petition and score 500 individual action points towards the OCC Africa trip.

More than 86,000 ONE members have signed our petition to the African Union, calling on them to keep the commitment they made to support Zimbabwe’s new unity government, as it struggles to rebuild in the midst of a humanitarian crisis.

We’ll be delivering those petition signatures in a few weeks and you can help us reach our goal of 100,000 names, making a powerful statement that the world is watching:

http://www.one.org/zimbabweandtheau

Zimbabwe is still in a very precarious situation. As David Lane said in his email to ONE members today:

“This petition won’t be the end of the line for our work on Zimbabwe, there will be much more to do, but it is a critical first step. Zimbabwe is on the verge of being able to function again and with strong AU support, there is a chance that things could get back on track for people who have been through extraordinarily tough times.”

The Rankings: Top 40 Individuals, 3/17/09

March 17th, 2009 at 5:18 pm

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Just since Friday, we’ve had a few big jumps on our individual action leaderboard. Hassan Barzani from UT-San Antonio went from #19 last week to #5 today, while Stephanie Parrish from UofM made a leap from #17 to #13 and Caitlin Harrowby from Maui Community College jumped from #33 right into the top 20, at #19. Wow!

After the March 22nd deadline (now only 5 days away!), the top 20 students on this list will be invited to submit projects and the 5 students with the best projects will win a trip to Africa.

Here are the standings!

1 Nick Stevens, Webster University, 100665
2 Justin Kralemann, Baylor University, 55785
3 Tomas Moreno, Wofford College, 49810
4 Mike Fazzino, Sacred Heart University, 48350
5 Hassan Barzani, University of Texas at San Antonio, 46750
6 Andrea Netti, Southern Methodist University, 44740
7 Rachel Berman-Vaporis, Brandeis University, 33500
8 Kelly Wynveen, Clark University, 30240
9 Mike Weidman, Wilmington College, 27325
10 Jessica Beckner, Indiana University, 25730
11 Eric Mayle, Missouri State University, 21475
12 Audrey Ruark, Kennesaw State University, 20895
13 Stephanie Parrish, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, 18725
14 Erin Burke, Sacred Heart University, 18140
15 Harpreet Kaur, Saint John’s University, Jamaica New York, 18035
16 Bryant Shannon, University of Florida, 17550
17 Christie Fleming, Franciscan University of Steubenville, 14510
18 Steven Thai, Luther College, 14465
19 Caitlin Harrowby, Maui Community College, 12755
20 Genevieve Gearity, Emerson College, 12530
21 Victoria Roman, George Washington University, 10100
22 Olivia Durning, Sacred Heart University, 10040
23 Rachel Cope, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 9760
24 Leah Richards, Sacred Heart University, 8940
25 Ebey Soman, Saint John’s University, Jamaica New York, 8300
26 Melissa Salomoni, University of Connecticut, 8180
27 Caitlin Hillman, University of Iowa, 7990
28 Charlie Harris, Western Kentucky University, 7990
29 Thomas Ginn, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 7510
30 Amanda Francini, Sacred Heart University, 7190
31 Melissa Boles, Washington State University – Vancouver, 6820
32 Stephen Muse, George Washington University, 6710
33 Ross Joy, Seton Hall University, 6690
34 Alex Schmidt, Baylor University, 6000
35 Chelsey Jonason, DePauw University, 5670
36 Lindsay Barr, Roger Williams University, 5160
37 Stefani Morones, Loyola Marymount University, 5100
38 William Burton, Morehead State University, 5060
39 Chris Flores, Colorado State University, 5050
40 Jessica Frisina, Lenoir-Rhyne College, 4850

Keep those actions coming! For the full list of individual actions, click here.

-Emily Stivers

OCC Lessons: The Meaning of Being ONE

March 17th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

I began efforts to bring OCC to Emerson College this past September and was met with much apathy. There was limited interest on campus for ONE or anything like it, and the only human rights group on campus had too full a plate to take on ONE efforts. I was alone in my ambitions, with many well wishes but little support. By doing individual challenges, I invited members by attending campus meetings and passing around sign-up sheets, created a logo and a blog, and gained enough points to earn Emerson a Top 100 spot for the Power 100 Summit in D.C.

At the Summit I heard countless stories from very successful campus leaders on how they built their ONE chapters, and how they continue to thrive semester after semester. I now continue to contact campus group leaders, members of our Political Communication department, and others in ongoing efforts to engage fellow Emersonians.

Emerson may not be the most humanitarian-minded school, but I’m determined to bring out the humanitarian hiding in each of our students. Although it is still a challenge, and still an independent effort, EmersONE is making relative strides on campus, joining with on-campus groups and individuals, and will one day soon be a force to be reckoned with in Boston. I may be one single person, but if OCC has taught me anything, it’s that ONE is all it takes, and soon enough, our campus will be many working as ONE!

-Genevieve Gearity, Emerson College

This entry is part of a series of student submissions on “What I Learned From OCC This Year.” Click here for more info.

Photo of the Week: That’s Cold, Baylor!

March 17th, 2009 at 8:50 am

Who says the cold is no fun? This past week, Baylor University’s Justin Kralemann got away from the cares of life and headed to Winter Park, Colorado for Spring Break to ski. While there, he and another ONE member could not help but show some ONE love.

Okay guys, now get back to that Top 10 project!

-Emily Stivers

GWU Takes it to the Next Level

March 16th, 2009 at 3:22 pm

Even though the ONE student group at the George Washington University just missed getting into the Top 10 of the ONE Campus Challenge to compete for an on-campus concert with the band Vampire Weekend, that doesn’t mean that they are giving up on trying to spread awareness about ONE and its mission to end extreme global poverty. Check out what Stephen Muse and the GW ONE Chapter were up to last weekend:

We got the idea to present a Greek version of the ONE declaration and present it to the sororities and fraternities on campus after ONE GW succeeded in getting President Knapp to forever declare The George Washington University a ONE Campus. On Sunday, March 8th, ONE GW teamed up with Joshua Fischman, a ONE member and President of Sigma Nu, to present a ONE Greek Declaration to the presidents of a number of chapters on campus. Twenty-five presidents took his or her turn and signed the bottom of the Declaration, adding the letters of his or her order to signify their everlasting support for ONE and its fight against poverty. It is our hope that by having the Greek presidents sign the ONE Declaration, we can start a trend and get the Greeks on other campuses around the country to sign onto it, bringing in a whole new dimension to the ONE Campus Challenge.

-GW ONE President, Stephen Muse

Seems to me that ONE GW is gearing-up to raise the bar for next year!

-Christopher Berg