Archive for the ‘OCC’ Category
January 22nd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Last fall UNICEF released a report showing global child morality had dipped below 10 million deaths for the first time in 2006. Another recent report from UNCIEF, State of the World’s Children 2008, noted that “62 countries were making no or insufficient progress towards a key 2015 child mortality target [Millennium Development Goal 4]” the BBC reported. An excerpt follows:
But the picture painted in the report is one of divergence, with the industriali[z]ed world and parts of the developing world making good progress. [. . .]
[In sub-Saharan Africa], the annual average rate of reduction in the child mortality rate between 1990 and 2006 was only 1% per year – meaning the rate will have to increase to 10.5% per year between 2007 and 2015 if the region is to meet the fourth MDG.
Despite the bleak diagnosis for some countries, the report stressed that these problems can be overcome with improved health delivery models/systems and political will. Generating the political will is the goal of the ONE Campus Challenge and you can gain 500 points for your school by sending a letter to Congress advocating action on child morality and reporting your action.
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:00 am
On January 10th, Mayor Rick Becker of Mineral Springs, North Carolina signed a proclamation declaring the town a City of ONE, and thus making it the second such North Carolina city in two months to do so. On November 19, 2007, Durham signed a similar proclamation to become the first City of ONE in the state after Duke graduate student Shawn Selleck petitioned the City Council for the proclamation. Selleck led the Mineral Springs effort as well. ‘After petitioning the city of my studies to be the first City of ONE in North Carolina, I only thought it appropriate that the second ONE city should be my hometown,’ Selleck said after receiving news of the signed proclamation. When he was in elementary school, Selleck’s family moved to Mineral Springs, where he resided until leaving for his undergraduate studies at N.C. State. He visited the Mineral Springs Town Council meeting on Dec. 13 to address the council and Mayor Rick Becker, who has lived in the same neighborhood as Selleck’s parents since the family moved to Mineral Springs. Before signing the proclamation, Becker said, “Poverty and disease do not carry the labels of ‘Republican’ or ‘Democrat’, and it is a responsible thing for a local government to acknowledge the benefits of working as a community toward ONE goal. Education, cooperation, innovation and communication are non-partisan keys to improving the lives of our fellow human beings worldwide.”
January 17th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
After getting feed back from folks at the Power 100 Summit we’ve played around a bit with the My Campus page. Couple of major changes:
- OCC Blog feed in the middle of the page.
- Points and actions moved front and center.
- Leader login link right next to leader picture.
- Weekly challenge and other actions listed on the page.
- Links to the store and info on how to schedule a visit to your local member of Congress’s office.
Check it out and let us know what you think. We’re always open to making improvements.
January 17th, 2008 at 10:08 am
We want to end poverty. Problem is, how do we do it? How do we – a bunch of passionate students – change the world?
The answer: Phone Calls. Don’t let that little dial tone discourage you either; it can be intimidating, I know, but you have to look beyond it. Your temporary discomfort WILL alleviate the discomfort of those living in extreme poverty worldwide. I think that’s a fair trade, don’t you?
Here’s how:
1. Find the bill that you want to support. You can check out the ONE.org Take Action page, ONE.org Issues page, check out your ONE emails, or any one of our poverty fighting partner’s webpage.
2. Find out if your members of Congress are already sponsoring the bill. You can find this on either the ONE Action pages for each bill (ex: the page of the Global Child Survival Act) or by looking the bill up in Thomas (rightfully named after Thomas Jefferson).
3. Call your member of Congress – U.S. Capitol Switchboard 202-224-3121.
4. Ask for the staff member who would work on your bill. Talk to them about who you are (especially that you are a constituent) and why you care about the bill. You don’t have to be an expert, passion matters more than anything here.
5. Follow up. Send an email thanking the person for their time and call back a week later and find out if they have worked on it. You’ll find that a little persistence goes a LONG way.
I find that to be a pretty simple formula, and it’s worth 1,000 points per call (but you have to report them using the “create your own action” page). There are a hundred more ways to fight poverty and score points with the Campus Challenge as well, and hundreds more that aren’t even listed on the Campus Challenge page.
So how do you fight poverty? What have you done that works? What do you want to try?
Let me (and the rest of the world) know. We’re counting on you.
Huzzah!
Mike Fazzino, Sacred Heart University
January 11th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Birds are singing, the weather is beautiful, and politicians are everywhere you turn. With the South Carolina primaries not so far in the distance it makes sense that many of our presidential candidates in both parties are beginning to make their stops thoughout the state, in particular college campuses. A recent statistic has shown that over 30% of the participants in the Iowa Caucuses in early January were young people of ages 18-25. This is the election that students are beginning to take part in. We have seen that our voice can make the difference and we are turning out in record numbers.
Today, College of Charleston hosted Senator Barack Obama in our Bully Pulpit Series: Reflections on Presidential Communication. In a surprise turn of events, Senator John Kerry first came to the stage to endorse Senator Obama. In all the hullabaloo I couldn’t quite get the best picture with the Senator but told him thank you for supporting the ONE Campaign. And his reply? “There’s nothing else like it, thank you for being part of it; it’s a great campaign.”
Also, Senator John Edwards made his way to North Charleston to volunteer at a local Food Bank which is a distribution center for soup kitchens to feed local impoverished people. When asked for a picture, Senator Edwards jumped to the opportunity stating that the time and effort that we put in as members of ONE is truly extraordinary.
The times, they are a changin’
I’ll continue with updates from South Carolina- Huzzah!
-Seaton, College of Charleston
January 10th, 2008 at 2:40 am
Everyone must have heard by now, but just for the record: Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain won the New Hampshire primaries last night in the Democratic and Republican primaries.
Fortunately, thanks to the hard work of many in the Granite State, other early primary states, and (a big deal was made of this at the Power 100 Summit) ONE Campus Challenge participants who made calls to the campaigns, both Sen. Clinton and Sen. McCain have gone on the record at http://www.onevote08.org/ontherecord/
Sen. McCain has been featured on the other (original) ONE blog numerous times, making a habit of letting ONE advertise at his campaign events by handing over the microphone for a few minutes for ONE volunteers to explain our cause.
Sen Clinton has developed a comprehensive plan for development, one of only two candidates that I know of to do so, which available on her website at: http://www.hillaryclinton.com/news/release/view/?id=4437
January 5th, 2008 at 10:31 am
As a fellow blogger has already posted, we were visited by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist on Saturday morning, the last day of the Power 100 Summit. He had some important information to pass on to all ONE advocates…
The Millenium Challenge Corporation is an experiment in developmental aid. Americans would pay 2 cents out of each tax dollar to the Corporation, which the Corporation would then put to good use as aid for African countries. The importance behind the Corporation is that it would decide how to best use the aid money so that it is NOT wasted in Africa. It implies the use of transparent transactions. However, the Millenium Challenge Corporation is having a hard time gaining acceptance from Congress; Congress dislikes the Corporation because it takes power away from Congress to decide where aid money would go and puts it into smarter hands. The Corporation needs our support as ONE members… let our politicians know that we’re behind the Millenium Challenge Corporation. Demand accountability. Demand progress. Demand this plan.
January 4th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
“There is NO reason we can’t drown poverty in opportunity.” Well said, Newt Gingrich, well said.
On Friday afternoon, Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, spoke to the Power 100 Summit about the difference between being a good citizen and being an advocate. While good citizens tend towards charity for their causes, advocates make it personal, using grassroot activism to affect real change from the bottom up.
Mr. Gingrich gave us three ground rules that form ‘the essence of advocacy.’ When dealing with political figures, it’s imperative to:
1. Make it personal. Explain why it’s important to them that the changes be made…
2. Attach specific action. Make it impossible for them to forget you or your cause; have them sign a letter, speak at an event, etc. Let them know what you want them to do…
3. Close the sale. Make it real. Walk away from the talk with the end goal accomplished that you appraoched them for at the beginning…
Mr. Gingrich also spoke to us on the importance of the ‘good neighbor policy’, and about our responsibility to bring technology, medicine, education, and real change to those in the world that live in desperate poverty. He was a wonderful speaker, encouraging all of us to go forth and be more than just good citizens, but to be true advocates for the ONE Campaign.
January 4th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
On Friday, the second full day of ONE’s Power 100 Summit Conference, the OCC student leaders had a chance to lead four break-out sessions. I had the incredible privilege of being able to co-lead one of the break-out sessions with Steven, an OCC student leader from Iowa. Weldon asked us to lead our session on “harassing” candidates, or in politically correct terminology, on how to get the attention of political candidates focused on the ONE Campaign. We also talked about how to encourage the growth of ONE on college campuses.
With Steven being from Iowa where the Iowa caucus is of immense importance, and with me being an ROA from New Hampshire where the Primary is the first in the nation, we both had plenty of experiences to draw from for our session. The Presidential election of 2008 is going to bring about serious change in our nation, and we want to make sure that all political candidates, not just the Presidential hopefuls, are fully aware of ONE and its goals. For states that receive high political traffic, like New Hampshire and Iowa, direct contact with political candidates is a must; if they don’t acknowledge you, it doesn’t mean they don’t notice you and aren’t aware of ONE. Even if your state doesn’t see a lot of high-ranking politicians, remember: the more they see of ONE members, the better. Never give up. Write letters, call political offices, and most of all, never let those in our government forget how important we are as ONE. Make sure our political representatives understand just how important the fight to end extreme poverty really is…
After discussing politics for twenty minutes, we stumbled upon the topic of turning our college campuses into ONE campuses, going over all of our successes and failures. Our group decided that the best way to deal with gaining support for ONE on campus is to work through the college’s community service center. This helps with broadening contacts, tabling, events, etc. Venturing out to the dorms to sign people up for ONE works pretty well, too. Just make sure to get the “ok” beforehand!
ONE’s Power 100 Summit Conference was perhaps the most empowering event that I have ever attended. Our break-out session encouraged us further, as I’m sure the other sessions did for the rest of the student leaders. To be in a beautiful room bursting with students full of passion to make the world a better place by bringing an end to poverty was a truly unique experience. I know I was inspired by getting to hear their stories… keep up the fight, OCC student leaders! HUZZAH!!!!
– Rachel Leuck, ROA
January 4th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Education matters for every aspect of eliminating poverty, because it brings with it the power of change, which in turn leads us closer to a more peaceful, poverty-free world. So Gene Spurling says. Gene Spurling is a senior fellow for economic studies and director of the Center for Universal Education at the Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Spurling also served in the Clinton administration as the President’s National Economic Adviser and Director of the National Economic Council.
We had the honor of hearing from Mr. Spurling on Friday afternoon of the Power 100 Summit. Mr. Spurling shared with us the large impact that education has on poverty. According to him, development assistance is directly linked to education.
72 million children are NOT in school today. There are more children out of school in Africa than there are children in school in the USA. We should be looking at getting universal education to a point of 9 to 10 years for every child, which is beyond the 5-year expectation we have right now under the Millenium Development Goals. Mr. Spurling talked to us about the Education For All Act, where the desire is to align the interests of children with the interests of parents.
We further discussed the fact that fees hurt the educational opportunities of children, as does distance beween schools and villages. Girls suffer more educationally because of distance and fees than do boys, simply because girls are needed at home for chores. We can help this situation by expanding the access and capacity of schools for the children. The Millenium Development Goals are a small start to making this happen, but more is needed…
Global Education Action Week begins April 21, 2008; visit www.campaignforeducationusa.org for more information on how YOU can get involved.
TAGS: Action, OCC