Everyone needs a fantastic friend by their side to achieve the impossible. Luckily, ONE has an amazing friend to change the world with!
ONE and (RED) have certainly both accomplished some impressive feats. To this day, (RED) has generated over $500 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria. That money has impacted nearly 110 million people across 8 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa! ONE has also made a big impact through successfully advocating for life-saving aid and helping secure important laws, including the Land Tenure Law, which is empowering female farmers in Mali through land rights.
Through increasing awareness of the Global Fund, (RED) helps ONE ensure government support for life-saving programs that the Global Fund provides. In short, their work helps us do our work.
Here are 3 reasons why (RED) is our activist BFF:
1. We started as one organization
We really have been friends for life! In 2002, Bono and Bobby Shriver founded DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa). By 2006, it became clear that there was a need for the private sector to step up and generate more money to solve some of the world’s biggest issues — enter (RED)! Two years later, DATA became ONE. We haven’t looked back since!
Recently, ONE and (RED) volunteers joined U2 for their eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE tour to spread the word on our fantastic causes. Together, volunteers educated concertgoers on the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease. They even recruited new supports for both of our organizations!
2. We do things differently but share a common goal
Great way to wrap up my time home with #ONEonTour fighting extreme poverty at the #U2eiTour @ONEinAmerica @ONECampus pic.twitter.com/kBMHfQohNS
— Ben Sykora (@benjamin_sykora) May 24, 2018
Differences make any friendship stronger. Luckily, our work compliments each other!
ONE uses advocacy and campaigning to generate support for programs and policies that promote change and empower people to end extreme poverty worldwide.
(RED) works with world’s biggest brands and companies to create unique products and services that, when purchased, trigger money that goes straight to the Global Fund to fight AIDS/HIV, TB and Malaria.
Here at ONE, we pressure governments to do more to fight AIDS and end extreme poverty. Our work can be seen on local, national, and continental levels! From helping Eva get clean water from the Tanzanian government, to getting the Electrify Africa Act passed, ONE’s advocacy work can be seen in action across the continent.
In short, ONE is policy-focused, while (RED) is funding-focused. Even though we do things differently, we have a common desire to make life-saving changes happen!
3. We work well together
When we collaborate, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish. Recently, our Youth Ambassadors joined (RED) and their partner, Salesforce, at CeBIT, one of the world’s largest international tech conferences. Ambassadors from both organizations talked with visitors about the work each organization does. They even got new members to join ONE in the fight against extreme poverty at the (RED) pop-up zone. This kind of on-the-ground activism keeps both of our organizations going strong!
Together, our friendship will help in ending extreme poverty and preventable diseases worldwide!