A new chapter of the international human rights group ONE recently started up on Grounds, and the organization is looking to find its niche within the student body at the University.
The chapter is part of an international grassroots campaign grounded in fighting hunger, extreme poverty and diseases overseas. According to the organization's official Web site, "ONE" is a vast network of more than 2 million people, all brought together for a common purpose: to help third-world countries, specifically those in Africa.
"We are the voice of the people in Africa, Haiti, South America and elsewhere who cannot be heard in our government - the voice of poor people everywhere who could use efficient aid in situations of crisis to end their suffering," said Christina Haden, co-president of the University's ONE chapter.
In November 2009, several graduate and undergraduate students - including Haden and Co-President Simon Svirnovskiy - began the "ONE" campaign chapter at the University. The students met with the international organization's CEO, David Lane, a University graduate, who encouraged the students to become involved with the group. The students then worked with a field representative of ONE to establish a local chapter, Haden said.
Haden and Svirnovskiy traveled to a "Power 10 Summit" in Washington, D.C. to meet ONE members from across the country. They also lobbied several key Democratic legislators, including state Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb, as well as Rep. Tom Perriello, who represents Charlottesville, to support President Obama's International Affairs Budget. Obama's proposal increases the foreign affairs account by 9 percent to double foreign assistance by 2012.
"Sen. Webb's aides were visibly impressed to find out that there are over 70,000 ONE members in Virginia. We have a big impact and ONE helps rally our civic voice to useful, collective action," Svirnovskiy said. "ONE, as an organization, feels that it is more efficient to get massive chunks of funding and development aid from nations rather than private individuals."
Since its founding four-and-a-half months ago, the chapter has recruited 350 members, Vice President Emily Pearce said. Even so, ONE constantly looks to increase its membership, Pearce said.
"It's very easy to sign up for the campaign at a table around Grounds, but I'd like to provide more opportunities for members to get involved - whether it be through tabling, film screenings, speaker series, or partnerships with other organizations around Grounds," she said.
The University's chapter currently is ranked 16th nationally in "ONE's Campus Challenge" - a competition among hundreds of universities to determine through a point system which school has the most effective program. Certain actions such as signing a petition, calling senators and writing a letter earn points, Pearce explained.
"More and more, however, we're focusing less on the points in the ONE Campus Challenge and reminding ourselves why we're actually in ONE. The points and the national ranking are nice, but we're all involved in this because we genuinely want to see efficient aid, education and health care come to Africa," Svirnovskiy said.
One of the first events ONE held at the University was a used textbook drive. The proceeds went to Liberian schools through the Liberia Literacy Foundation. The organization also created and collected money for their "Haiti Debt Relief," Svirnovskiy said. Other activities have included tabling on the Lawn and a State of the Union watching party.
These events are aimed at getting other people to understand the importance of the global issues, which Haden said is the greatest struggle the organization faces. Methods to send aid directly overseas include vaccination initiatives, food enrichment programs, education, microfinancing and program development, she said.
Through these methods, the organization hopes to "to call on this generation to end these issues," Haden said in an e-mail. "We do believe it's possible - we're inching towards that goal a little bit every day, with the benevolence and willingness of millions of people across the country."
ONE also recognizes that it cannot operate solely on an international level, however, and looks to gain membership and community support locally.
"Hopefully, once more students know about ONE, their competitive nature - that every U.Va. student has - will come out and get people excited about participating more in ONE," said Sarah Reynolds, ONE Campus Challenge coordinator.
With the aim of building community awareness, ONE plans to host its "Movie Premier Night" April 23 at the Amphitheater, which will showcase the work the group has done so far at the University. Haden explained the group has been working on a photoshoot video about the organization, which it will show that night.
The movie will mimic the national organization's penchant for using celebrities in its commercials to promote its message by featuring pseudo-celebreties, Haden said, including Lane, several prominent University professors and student leaders. In addition, the event will include performances, speeches, free food and raffles.
ONE will not ask for donations that night, but instead will ask for community members to join its fight.
"We will want to inspire the people in our community about the benefits of reaching out and helping, and help them realize that there is a large community of us who are all bound by a common interest in helping our fellow human. We truly believe that as we all come together as ONE - we can make a difference," Haden said in the e-mail.
This spring, ONE's campaign will be titled "WEAR ONE," featuring white wristbands, which will allow students to display their support all across Grounds.
Next semester, the organization will be holding "Call Parties," when the group will call local congressmen and representatives requesting their support for global development.
"When many people strive as "one" to achieve a goal," Reynolds said, "the effectiveness is surprising"
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