Gov. Beebe Declares Arkansas A ‘State of ONE’

Jun 6th, 2007 12:00 PM UTC
By Kim Smith, ONE Regional Field Organizer

Last Thursday Governor Mike Beebe proclaimed Arkansas a “State of ONE.” In addition 38 cities across the state were declared “Cities of ONE” by their mayors. The Lt Governor, community leaders, local media, and over 50 ONE supporters came out to the State Capital to help celebrate the occasion!

The Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter kicked off the event saying, “We are very rich and blessed to have such tremendous leaders here in Arkansas. We have an obligation to combat hunger and preventable diseases.” There were also speakers from ONE Partner organizations Heifer International and Winrock International, the Episcopal Bishop of Arkansas and a representative from the Arkansas United Methodist Church Conference. ONE Volunteer Brandolynne Foster who has been working on collecting the 38 Cities of ONE since December 2006 also spoke to the crowd about how everyday Americans can get involved locally. “Fighting extreme poverty and global disease around the world is something we can all do together here at home. Together, we can save millions of lives and bring hope and opportunity to the world’s poorest people. Together, we can be the generation that ends extreme poverty, for good,” says Foster.

All in all ONE Arkansas was a great success! With more than 12,000 ONE members across the state and the most “Cities of ONE” nationwide, the people of Arkansas are helping change the lives of those living in Africa and the world’s poorest countries. It also may help lead to the next state of ONE. ” To expand her efforts beyond Arkansas, Brandolynne Foster extended an invitation to Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri to join Arkansas and the over 40,000 ONE Missouri members by declaring Missouri a “State of ONE”.