Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a documentary film screening and panel discussion of “Enemies of Happiness” (film trailer below) in Philadelphia.
The event was organized in part by Women’s Campaign International (WCI), which was founded in 1998 by former Pennsylvania Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies to help women around the world, including several African nations, find their voices by giving them tangible skills in areas such as leadership, public speaking, media relations, grassroots organizing, campaign strategies, voter outreach and mobilization, polling, policy analysis and fund raising.
WCI has worked with political leaders, activists, advocacy groups and non-profit partner organizations to ensure that women have a legitimate opportunity to participate in the development of public policy and to ensure that women’s issues are placed on local, national and regional agendas. With the help of local civil society organizations, WCI is able to tailor its programs to fit the needs, culture and abilities of women in each country.
I had the chance to speak with Ms. Margolies after the event and to my delight, she was already familiar with ONE. She mentioned having met Bob Geldolf a number of years ago and speaking briefly with him about ONE’s efforts to help the poorest people on earth to rise up out of poverty. Ms. Margolies immediately put on the ONE band I presented her with and was eager to learn more about becoming involved with ONE in Pennsylvania and beyond.
-Barb Barrar, ONE Congressional District Leader, New Jersey
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.
Pastor Matt Staniz of Temple Lutheran Church in Havertown, PA has been a ONE member for several years and an amazing advocate for the world’s poorest people. He has consistently done some pretty impressive things to promote education, awareness, and advocacy for ONE including speaking at the press conference when Philadelphia, PA was declared a ONE city; making his voice heard with our elected officials; and helping to raise awareness in the faith community by writing “sermon starters” for the ELCA regarding the global HIV/AIDS Pandemic and holding a “Lazarus Sunday”.
I asked Pastor Matt what ONE means to him and this was his response:
“The ONE Campaign is a vital movement in the world today. It reflects the type of love that we must have for each other: a love that is reflected in justice, equality, and action. It is through working as ONE to end extreme poverty and preventable disease that I can look at the needs in the world and become part of a real solution. As a person of faith, I am convinced that raising a voice on behalf of the poor is how faith creates action and charity leads to justice. ONE provides actions that allow concern for the poor to lead to real change.”
Pastor Matt also recently joined me in Washington and met with ONE staff. He made some remarks regarding the experience:
I recently had an opportunity that I wish could be shared with every ONE volunteer. During a visit to Washington D.C., I was able to spend a morning at the ONE U.S. offices and see first-hand the energy, expertise and effort behind ONE’s work on behalf of the world’s poorest people. I was invited to participate in the daily “morning huddle” led by Mike Henry, ONE’s Senior Director of U.S. Field Operations. Listening to the conversation, it was clear to me that the team’s passion to end extreme poverty and preventable disease was matched by their proficiency and talent for advocacy. After huddling as a team, everyone went immediately and energetically into their part of ONE’s work. I also had the chance to meet ONE’s U.S. Executive Director Sheila Nix and ONE’s President and CEO, David Lane. Both were very grateful for the work of ONE volunteers across the U.S. and around the world.
By visiting ONE and interacting with the staff and leaders, I have learned how to be a more effective advocate myself. I know more about the issues ONE is committed to. I have discovered new ways to communicate ONE’s important message. I am also energized by the passion of ONE’s staff and find great encouragement in knowing that so many talented and committed people stand with me as I stand with the world’s poorest people.
If you are a ONE member, I encourage you to connect with your partners on the ONE staff. And if you can make it to Capitol Hill to do some ONE advocacy, be sure to schedule a visit to the ONE offices. It is tremendously rewarding to witness what happens on a daily basis as ONE goes to work on behalf of the world’s poorest people.
It has been an inspirational pleasure to stand side by side with Pastor Matt advocating for the world’s most vulnerable people!
Pastor Matt Staniz and RFD Brian Sweeney with Sen. Bob Casey
On the first day of the 112th Congress, I joined ONE members from across the US on Capitol Hill. I traveled from Pennsylvania with ONE Regional Field Director Brian Sweeney in hopes of congratulating newly-elected Senator Pat Toomey on behalf of Pennsylvania’s 71,976 ONE members and to thank him for taking time to talk to us and other Pennsylvania ONE members during his campaign. Both Brian and I were prepared for the reality that meeting with the senator would be difficult — perhaps even impossible — on such a busy day. The two events scheduled for the senator to receive guests were both expecting full-capacity crowds. We knew, however, that it was worth the extra effort to speak with Senator Toomey about his opportunity to make a difference for the poorest people in the world.
Pastor Matt Staniz and RFD Brian Sweeney Congratulating Sen. Pat Toomey
Meeting Senator Toomey on his first day in office turned out to be much easier than we could have imagined. We stopped by the senator’s office to offer congratulations and drop off some information about ONE. Fortunately, Senator Toomey was in the office with his family as he prepared to be sworn in. He saw us in the office and graciously stopped to say hello. We spoke with him about the conversations we had on the campaign trail, congratulated him and thanked him for taking time for ONE.
Having accomplished more than I expected, we were also excited to have extra time to visit the office of Pennsylvania’s senior Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. After speaking with Senator Casey’s staff about his leadership on issues important to ONE members, I was surprised when Senator Casey came out of a meeting room and immediately invited us to walk with him on his way to the Senate chamber! We spoke at length about Casey’s leadership on issues important to ONE members and our commitment to help create the political will to make such leadership succeed. Senator Casey recognized the vital work that ONE members are doing in the fight against extreme poverty and pledged his continued leadership.
-Pastor Matt Staniz, PA ONE Member, Temple Lutheran Church Havertown
Yesterday, I was glad to have the opportunity to go backstage and speak with Pennsylvania Senate candidate Pat Toomey at a campaign stop near my home in suburban Philadelphia.
I thanked him for taking the time to speak with me about the important issues that ONE hopes will be priorities for Pennsylvania’s next senator. I explained to Mr. Toomey that the people in my church have been actively interested and involved in fighting poverty and preventable diseases and have found ONE to be a valuable partner in our efforts. I expressed my hope that he would continue the strong American leadership that has saved millions of lives in Africa.
ONE is hitting the campaign trail to find out where candidates stand on extreme poverty. Stay tuned for more updates like these from our field team and organizers on the road.
CDL Barb Barrar with ONE members and Rep. Sestak
Last night, at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., ONE members attended a rally with Representative Joe Sestak featuring former President Bill Clinton. In their brief engagements with the former president and congressman, our members were sure to underscore the importance of continued bipartisan US leadership that has now saved more than 5 million lives in some of the poorest places on earth. They also took the opportunity to thank President Clinton for all his work to help save lives in Africa and Haiti.
ONE member Barb Barrar also made clear to Rep. Sestak that right now, more than ever, the next senator from Pennsylvania needs to understand that saving lives in Africa is a moral priority and helps foster a safer and more secure world. As the final hours of this campaign season wind down, I encourage all ONE members to be active at campaign events between now and Election Day.
With only a few days left, your voice with ONE is more important than ever as we continue the fight against extreme poverty. Urgent action will be needed after the election, so stay tuned to the ONE Blog.
ONE is hitting the campaign trail to find out where candidates stand on extreme poverty. Stay tuned for more updates like these from our field team and organizers on the road.
Yesterday, MSNBC’s “Hardball with Chris Matthews” was live from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., right after visiting the University of Illinois at Chicago’s campus on Wednesday!
Pennsylvania ONE members joined students in waving ONE signs and wearing ONE T-shirts to help rally Americans in the fight against extreme poverty and AIDS in Africa. We spoke with Chris Matthews before the taping, and he was amazed to see ONE members again and told us “Wow! We just ran into ONE in Chicago!”
We were able to catch up with U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Joe Sestak after his interview, and I thanked him for his past support for many of ONE’s legislative priorities – like helping to reauthorize the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and cosponsoring the Water for the World Act. While walking with him, I emphasized the importance of these life-saving programs in the developing world, and encouraged him to continue his leadership for the world’s poorest people if elected to the Senate. Sestak thanked me, happily accepted a ONE band and posed for a quick picture for the ONE blog. Rep. Sestak also remarked how he sees ONE everywhere and even remembered me by name! And it’s true — he has seen ONE members everywhere on the trail who encourage continued American leadership in the developing world.
As we were getting ready to leave the event, we were fortunate enough to catch up with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, too! I thanked the Governor on behalf of over 79,000 Pennsylvania ONE members for declaring Pennsylvania a “ONE State.” He smiled, gladly put on a ONE band and said, “I just received one of these in Iowa!”
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