Lauren Balog is a communications coordinator at ONE. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner!), she served on the national managing committee of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition while in college, and spent time in Iowa in 2008 working on the Ask the Candidates non-partisan campaign, focused on the ongoing situation in Sudan. Lauren came to ONE from New York where she worked in the pr and magazine industries.
This is the first in a series of monthly book picks from our ONE Mom bloggers. Stay tuned for the next selection in December.
Books can do a lot of things; they can inspire us. They can teach us; they can move us to action. Books can transport us to another time and place. The power of a good book is truly magical.
That’s why we’ve created the ONE Moms Book Club. At the beginning of every month, we will highlight books that inspire and educate. And you don’t have to be a mom to enjoy the books!
Our first selection for the book club is “Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America” by Joanne Bamberger, a former lawyer, mom to her tween daughter, ONE supporter and founder of the blog Pundit Mom.
What’s more powerful than a woman? A woman with an audience.
With just one year until the 2012 election, “Mothers of Intention” is a great book to read if you’re looking for inspiration to use your voice in the political process -– or jump in with ONE Vote 2012. Women are powerful political assets, and with the ever-growing population of women online (it’s growing faster than men), the demographic became an even more critical one for politicians to court. The balance of the book is great –- Joanne talks about conservative as well as liberal women -– and the perspective of the contributors makes this a rich and good read.
Photos from ONE’s last Twitter party. It was a lot of fun!
The Baby Shower for Global Good is an 8-hour online party that will be held on Twitter (#AMillionMoms) and in the BabyCenter Community on November 8. This cross-platform party will showcase more than 10 non-profits and companies that are helping mothers and children around the world. Organizations such as World Vision, Save the Children, Every Mother Counts, UN Foundation and more will be sharing stories, giving away prizes, and providing educational information about a variety of topics from famine to health workers to children’s health.
ONE and RED will be the featured organizations from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m ET. We’ll be discussing AIDS and our upcoming World AIDS Day campaign. So, join us! We have lots of fun ONE prize packs to give away, and we promise you’ll leave inspired for what you can do to make an impact on World AIDS Day.
Retweet, join the discussion, and invite your friends!
Every Halloween, I try to make conscious choices about my candy purchases. I know many like-minded people are the same and want to be sure that their purchases aren’t contributing to the extreme poverty that we all work to eradicate on a daily basis. But it’s hard –- where do you start? How do you ensure that you have a fair trade chocolate Halloween?
Fair Trade Halloween: Sweet Earth Trick or Treat Chocolates
Scientists See Promise in Vaccine for Malaria – Preliminary results for GlaxoSmithKline’s malaria vaccine, RTS,S, indicate that it protected 47% of children who received it from contracting a serious case of malaria. The vaccine, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has been in progress for over 25 years and was initially intended for military use. Clinical trials will continue until 2014 and will involve tests on over 15,000 children. (The New York Times, Donald McNeil Jr.)
Lifesaving Aid Operations Continue in Dadaab Despite Recent Kidnapping Incident – Following the kidnapping of two Medecins Sans Frontieres logisticians by suspected al-Shabab militants, aid agencies have given assurances that they will continue to provide aid. The UN has “suspended all non-lifesaving operations in Dadaab and imposed restrictions on staff movement.” Meanwhile, aid efforts in other regions of Somalia have been granted new funding from the Bill & Melinda Fates Foundation. (Devex, Ivy Mungcal)
ONE mom can make a difference; she can tell another mom’s story. She can help a child with homework; she can tweet, blog and use her voice for mothers in the world’s poorest places. It only takes ONE mom to inspire hope.
We often look at war through the eyes of a man: killing, destruction, power and violence.
What if we looked at war -– and most importantly, peace –- through the eyes of a woman? What would that look like? A century ago, 90 percent of war casualties were male soldiers; today, nearly 70 percent are civilian women and children.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the Ministers of Health Millennium Development Goal 5 Forum, hosted by the Princess of Africa Foundation, Women Deliver, Strategies for International Development and Vestergaard Frandsen. The forum convened to discuss ways to advance issues surrounding women and girls in the world’s poorest places, specifically on the fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which focuses on improving maternal health for women around the world.
Maternal health has made the least amount of progress out of any other MDG, with record numbers of women dying in childbirth, 90 percent of which can be prevented. A country’s entire health system can be judged based on the number of women who die in childbirth.
Health ministers from Angola, Uganda and Cote d’ Ivore discussed ways their countries are improving maternal health and access to health care for women.
Right now, some of the world's biggest oil companies are fighting to keep some of their deals with foreign governments secret. Let's tell big oil we won't be bullied.
Cuts to poverty-fighting programs won't balance the budget, but they will set back progress on Canada's development priorities and risk jeopardizing existing investments.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
