Something that I’ve noticed about college kids is that most of them really want to make a difference. College is the phase where kids turn into adults, learn who they are and figure out what they want to do with their life. Whether it’s something as small as getting involved in an organization on campus or doing something on a larger scale, students want to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves and makes a positive impact.
Last week, the ONE interns from the Washington, D.C., office hosted a happy hour for D.C. area interns and young professionals. The purpose of this event was to teach the group about ONE’s issues and explain how they can get involved on their campuses. The happy hour was a success –- more than 200 interns from local NGOs and Capitol Hill joined us for a fun-filled evening!
ONE US Executive Director Tom Hart spoke to the attendees about the impact that ONE has made so far, and the success it continues to make. Meredith Horowski, ONE Campus Challenge coordinator, walked students through the process of starting a ONE Campus chapter at their college.
Throughout the night, attendees were encouraged to participate and take action with some of ONE’s current campaigns. Twenty-eight D.C. interns wrote letters to their members of Congress, asking them to prevent cuts to critical life-saving international programs such as PEPFAR and the Global Fund.
Several attendees created a digital quilt panel for ONE’s 2015 AIDS Quilt. Another 50 people tweeted at the ONE’s Twitter handle, sharing their excitement to be at the event with their friends and other ONE members. We even had 11 people sign up to start a ONE Campus Chapter at their school, and others expressed interest in becoming more involved with the Campus Chapters that have already been established at their school. We were thrilled with the amount of engagement these young people voluntarily had with us.
The attendees left the event wanting to get more involved with ONE, making the happy hour a true success. We were so encouraged and pleased to see so many young people who wanted make a difference in our community and in our world!
ONE Government Relations Intern Maggie Pearce contributed to this story.