Oct 12th, 2011 12:06 PM UTC
By Christopher Geer
 Ann Lee Hussey, Chris Geer and Leroy P. Crockett
I traveled to Maine last week to meet with an area Rotary International Club and speak about ONE. Earlier this year, ONE and Rotary joined together in a formal collaboration, finding common cause in issue-based education and advocacy. Through the years, Rotary has demonstrated a long commitment to the world’s poorest people and in particular has sought to bring about the eradication of polio in the developing world.
As a result of this collaboration, I joined Tom Leary, from ONE Vote in New Hampshire, to deliver a talk to a local Rotary Club in Scarborough, Maine, located just south of Portland. We were welcomed by club president Leroy P. Crockett as we introduced ONE and the basics of our work and answered many thoughtful questions from club members. Since we started this outreach and have been interacting with local clubs, the invitations to speak have poured in. In fact, Tom had given a similar talk earlier in the day to a Rotary club in Kittery, Maine.
At the meeting in Scarborough, we were also joined by Ann Lee Hussey, a former Rotary District Governor, based in South Berwick, Maine. Ann Lee has led 18 immunization campaigns to countries where polio still threatens children, such as India, Bangladesh, Mali, Niger and Nigeria and is a true champion for those that remain at risk from this disease around the world.
As our collaboration with Rotary becomes more realized, it is exciting to see Rotary’s record of service and a membership core so involved and eager to make a difference in the world. It was great to engage with Rotarians in Maine and I look forward to another opportunity soon.
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Apr 14th, 2011 1:26 PM UTC
By Christopher Geer
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This week, students at Becker College in Worcester, MA held a letter-writing campaign to reach out to Massachusetts Senators Scott Brown and John Kerry to seek much-needed support against cuts to international development funding.
Becky Corbett at the letter-writing event
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Apr 6th, 2011 12:38 PM UTC
By Christopher Geer
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ONE members caught up with Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown again this weekend, this time at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. Other ONE Members previously saw him in Dallas and California.
During the senator’s book tour event, which included a forum discussion on wide ranging topics, including US involvement in Libya, Sen. Brown offered a stirring case for US intervention around the world in its role as a “country for good.”
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Feb 24th, 2011 9:08 AM UTC
By Christopher Geer
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Today was a momentous day for the students at the University of Pittsburgh. As they continue to battle it out in the ONE Campus Challenge, they had a banner week raising awareness for the budget crisis as it moves toward the Senate. Capping off a day spent submitting more than 75 letters and calls to Pennsylvania’s Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey, the students received official recognition naming the University of Pittsburgh as a “Campus of ONE” from that university’s student government organization.
An important milestone -– this accolade means a lot to the students involved and makes a broader statement to the overall student body. The University of Pittsburgh community is committed to the world’s poorest people at an absolutely crucial time for our active outreach on these issues.
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Oct 19th, 2010 4:17 PM UTC
By Christopher Geer
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After being seen all over the Today Show last month, ONE was hot on the campaign trail in New York City last night outside a private event right by Grand Central Terminal!
In the cool New York night, we had the opportunity to connect the dots with Sen. John Thune (R-ND), who immediately recognized us after ONE members were able to talk with him in Colorado late last week.
We also got to speak with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), and thank him for his vote for PEPFAR back in 2008.
And right after the event ended, I ran into senate candidate Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire. I was to able to talk with her about ONE and thank her for always making time for the world’s poorest people as she campaigns in the Granite State. She was very complimentary of ONE, and took time to snap an awesome picture while holding a ONE shirt!
It was a great night on the trail, and another great night for ONE in New York as we urge our elected leaders to do all they can to help fight extreme poverty and global disease in the poorest places on earth.
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Jun 30th, 2010 9:18 AM UTC
By Christopher Geer
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 36 handwritten letters were personally delivered to the Boston offices of Massachusetts Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown on Monday. These letters, written by local ONE members during our Boston advocacy workshop on Saturday, highlighted the need for an additional US investment of $1.75 Billion this year to continue the proven and effective life saving programs of the Global Fund.
It was a great opportunity for Massachusetts ONE members to come together to draw attention once again to the plight of those suffering around the world and seek action from our leaders in the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB.
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May 26th, 2010 1:24 PM UTC
By Christopher Geer
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 This week, Maine ONE members met in Portland, ME for a ONE advocacy workshop and used that time to write letters to Maine’s senators regarding funding of the International Affairs Budget.
Writing to Sen. Susan Collins, our members thanked her for her support of the President’s International Affairs Budget request and for signing the bipartisan Kerry-Lugar appropriations letter last week. This leadership is crucial to the ongoing effort to support the world’s poorest people and the fight against extreme poverty.
In letters to Sen. Olympia Snowe, they asked that the senator also demonstrate such leadership and stand side-by-side with her colleague by joining support for the Kerry-Lugar letter urging full funding of the President’s request for $58.8 billion for the International Affairs Budget.
These letters were hand delivered to both Senators’ Portland offices by local ONE members.
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