With the United Nations Special Summit on the Millennium Development Goals going on this week, it may not be a surprise to say a group of world leaders were gathered in New York City. Yet, they were miles from the UN headquarters. In fact, these heads of state gathered at The Earth Institute at Columbia University for a forum on The Children of Latin America: A Future Without Poverty.

Those in attendance from the Latin American nations were Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa, President, United Mexican States, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President, Argentine Republic, Fernando Armindo Lugo Méndez, President, Republic of Paraguay, Elias Antonio Saca González, President, Republic of El Salvador, and Martín Erasto Torrijos Espino, President, Republic of Panama.

At that, Bono isn’t the only rock-star philanthropist taking aim at eliminating poverty. Shakira and Alejandro Sanz graced the floor with their presence along with Jeffrey Sachs, bestselling author and director of the Earth Institute, and activists from the ALAS and Inter-American Development Bank.

So naturally, when student leaders at Sacred Heart University, Emerson College, and Seton Hall University found out about it, we knew we had to be there to represent ONE. After convincing our professors to let us skip class, we traveled from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey with ONE bracelets and shirts proudly displayed.

While we loved seeing Shakira and Jeff Sachs, the truly meaningful words spoken at the forum were those of the world leaders. From stating how they themselves focus on the MDG’s to more personal stories, such as the state of emergency in Paraguay to the sacrifice of “beautiful buildings to have happier citizens”, much was shared, and likewise much was learned. Truly, other world leaders aren’t turning a deaf ear to these problems.

Mr. Sachs joked between Shakira’s monologue that “Like Wyclef Jean said, she makes a man want to speak Spanish.” Well, even if you don’t speak Spanish, you can watch a bilingual archived webcast of the thrilling forum available online!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-u88Vr375Y

All of the schools put together some amazing final projects, but after counting all the legitimate votes, and calculating the judges’ scores, Western Kentucky emerged as our winner.The final vote total was:

Each of the judges ranked the projects from 1-10 (1 being the best), so a smaller sum total correlates to a better ranking. Their cumulative scores were:

Additionally, here is what the judges had to say about the projects (in no particular order):

Hofstra did a good job showing the struggles 1 billion people face on a daily basis around the world. Oftentimes it is easier for people to be impacted by a visual rather than a statistic – Great job showing everything from living conditions to limited food resources.

Western Kentucky showed hustle and energy and engaged the entire community which was impressive. Western Kentucky was savvy and the fact that they were able to get, for example, 160 people to send letters in support of the Education For All Act, showed a lot of tangible advocacy.

Kansas State did a great job reaching out to local media to spread more awareness.

The vigil was very powerful visual.

Campbellsville did a great job participating in a variety events that would reach different audiences. It is amazing how many activities you were able to host and be a part of. I hope the ONE group will continue to be involved in the campus and Campbellsville communities.

The fact that the UNLV students understood it was important both to praise a Senator supporting them and to push a Senator who was not was good, smart lobbying. Also, we can’t beat poverty on our own, and you did the best job of pulling other groups into the fight against poverty and got them to use their specific skills and interests to further the cause.

Brandeis – I loved the theme. The catchy theme was a great way to get people’s attention.

GWU did a great job demonstrating how cheap medications are for treatable diseases, it is important for people to understand something tangible like the cost of a pill. The petition delivery was the type of stunt that gets attention and sticks in people’s memories. Grade A advocacy right there.

Princeton did an amazing job inundating the campus with ONE materials the night before your campus event. I am glad you were able to make students comfortable enough to call their congressional members.

Wilmington – Engaging the local community is crucial. Hopefully you can start to build a sustainable group that bridges the campus and the community.

SHU did a great job with the playground and it was inspiring how they all were able to connect the local community to the greater global problem.

Those involved with ONE stand for eliminating extreme poverty and disease worldwide. Why don’t we all look and see what POSITIVE things we can say about the schools in the top ten? Try not to compliment your own school – we already know that YOU love their project.

For one, I LOVED George Washington’s use of the “Fresh African Water” in their final video submission. It was awesome – definitly got the message across. Western Kentucky’s breakdown of all the Millennium Development Goals was incredible as well – super effective. Hofstra is helping to educate children in Kenya – I’d say that’s a worthy cause. Campellsville, Kansas State, and Brandeis all had incredible awareness events as well. Wilmington College’s aspects of planning for their project in itself is daunting.

Post something here so long as you’ve got a positive thing to say. Anyone think of a project that no one did? Anything super creative? Let’s keep it going with some positive reinforcement here…

1. Sacred Heart University
2. University of Nevada, Las Vegas
3. Brandeis University
4. Western Kentucky University
5. Princeton University
6. Wilmington College, Wilmington, Ohio
7. Kansas State University
8. George Washington University
9. Hofstra University
10. Campbellsville University

Each school will receive a $1,000 grant to create their own poverty advocacy program.

Thank you all for waiting patiently while we processed points. We know that the leader board might shift around a little, but at the point that we cut off the competition (Monday) these were the schools that made the cut for the final 10.

This doesn’t mean that the competition is over for everyone else. If you didn’t make the top ten, you can still create you very own advocacy project and submit it for a chance at a “wild card” spot. In late March when we all vote for the final winner, we’ll include the wild card entry in with the top 10 schools for voting.

Though the competition of the Campus Challenge is narrowing, the larger competition against extreme poverty is far from over. We’ve got lots of work to do, and it is crucial that we all continue to do the work we have done during the campus challenge, even if the fun and games are coming to a close.

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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh5ELE6yYeU

Western Kentucky University got out and got public in a big way this weekend to win last week’s challenge: off campus outreach.  They did everything from tabling at a movie theater to simply banding people at cafes and coffee shops.

It can be intimidating to get out into the community and talk to people about ONE, but it can also be highly effective. Congratulations to Western Kentucky and all the other schools (like College of Charleston and Sacred Heart) that got off campus this last week and engaged even more people in the fight against poverty.

Our target audience consisted of three 2^nd grade classes, so we didn’t want to terrify the kids with the over simplified facts that many ONE members are familiar with. So like any intelligent, free thinking individual, we turned to Dr. Seuss for a little assistance. ONE had previously won a poster design contest here at SHU and our prize was a $50 AMEX gift card, so with our “prize money” we bought three copies of “Have I Ever Told You How Lucky You Are?” and a few extra ONE bands.

Ten of our students and staff arrived at the school at about 1:30 on Friday, armed with the books, bands, and a few packets of construction paper. We went into the classes and introduced ourselves, stating that we were with the ONE Campaign, whose goal was to make life a little bit easier for those less fortunate than ourselves. We had a very informative few minutes, asking them how many meals they ate that day, where they were going after school (most said ‘home’), etc. Then we told them that not everyone was as fortunate; some people don’t get to eat every day, let alone 3 full meals. Cue Dr. Seuss. We read and afterwards passed out the construction paper. We asked them to trace their hands, and inside, to write one thing that they learned. A few selections:

I learned not to waste food. – Breanna

I learned to keep the environment clean – Katie

I learned that I am very lucky to have toys to play with. – Zachary

I learned that if you have extra clothes you can give them to the poor – Annie

I learned that I want to help others – Paul

Anyway, after spending a little more time with the kids (who were adorable, mind you) and taking a few more group pictures, we forced ourselves out of the school because we still had more work to do. We have a surprise for them that we’ll be giving them on Monday morning; a giant ONE poster made up of all their hands with the fingers locked together! It was a colossal effort that we pulled off in a very short amount of time; and there is no doubt in our minds that our devotion to the principles of the ONE campaign have sparked a few future-grassroots activists to join in the fight against poverty. Huzzah!!

~ Mike Fazzino, Sacred Heart University

A little back story; the St. Charles food pantry in Bridgeport, CT, serves thousands of people each month; but during the holiday season, they actually ran out of food. I’ll repeat that; they ran out of food. 854 million people across the world are hungry right now, and Bridgeport isn’t spared in that terrible statistic.

The SHU ONE Campaign decided that was unacceptable; and so we got together, got the word out there, and really did something. When we delivered all the food (which took a considerable amount of effort and a large van) – we literally stocked the completely empty shelves full. It was an awesome experience, and it just shows that there is a lot to be done not just in areas of extreme poverty abroad, but in your own home or college towns right here.

http://www.sacredheart.edu/pages/21017_mccain_event_draws_2_700_to_pitt_center.cfm