When ONE Columbus heard that Jeffrey Sachs was coming to Ohio, we were definitely excited. After all he wrote “The End of Poverty,” is the special advisor to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and the director of the U.N. Millennium Project.

Since the “Day of Action: Stand-Up Against Poverty” events are taking place on October 15, we thought a ONE table at Dr. Sachs’ lecture would be a great way to spread the word. We called the event’s coordinators but got no immediate response. Determined to keep trying, Mike Beaumont, leader of the ONE Columbus volunteers, my mom and I decided to attend with flyers in hand.

When we arrived student volunteers graciously displayed our ONE materials on the official event table. That was great, but we were hoping for a little more visibility. Luckily, we were seated in the second row, directly behind the VIPs. It was the perfect opportunity.

Mike, feeling a little extra confident on this, his 30th birthday, walked directly to Jeffrey Sachs and introduced himself before the lecture began. Mike talked with Dr. Sachs about the Columbus October 15 event and hinted that mentioning the event to a crowd as receptive as this one could help a lot with outreach.

A smiling Jeffrey Sachs nodded his support and at the end of the lecture, we got what we wanted. Click here to hear it for yourself.

For more information about our Columbus event, go to www.onecampaigncolumbus.org/standup or click here to find a Day of Action event near you.