Tailgate!

As you may have already heard, ONE is not going to throw its own tailgate this time around. (Bummer!)
However, we are still giving everyone the opportunity to attend a tailgate AND do some volunteer service for ONE!
Anyone who knows a bunch of people who are having a tailgate and are willing to volunteer some time are invited to meet at Tommy Trojan at 10AM tomorrow to pick up a clipboard and go around trying to get sign-ups. I know I've said this every time this even gets messaged but just for reiteration's sake:
WE DO NOT ENCOURAGE YOU TO HARASS DRUNK STRANGERS.
We realize that some people are not as receptive to thinking about heavy topics like extreme poverty and global issues at events like tailgates and game days. For this reason, we would suggest that you start somewhere where you at least know one or two people and aren't completely crashing someone else's tailgate. Don't worry about it if you don't get any signatures, the important thing is the effort.
We're also thinking about trying to get sign-ups from people standing in line, waiting to get into the Colloseum. So if anyone wants to join us in our efforts, even if it's only for half an hour or so, please meet up with us at Tommy Trojan tomorrow morning.

Hope to see you there! Fight on Trojans!
(Let's beat UCLA, huh!!)

Take care and see you on the flip side!
Your BLeader,
A

Another Blog?! Oh No!

http://www.globalvolunteers.org/blog/

Not a long post today, just wanted to bring this website to people's attention. It's a pretty cool blog where people share their experiences volunteering in other countries. There was also an interesting post on how to go about volunteering. It had some really good insight into choosing the right organization for your beliefs, and how to be the best volunteer you can be. Once again, if there's anyone out there who knows someone who is willing to share their experiences like this, make sure to send them this way and I would be more than happy to post whatever it is they write. I think it's pretty neat that they have a website dedicated to global volunteers at all.

So come on guys! What are you waiting for? It doesn't take a blog post to tell you that ONE is the right group for you! Help end extreme global poverty!

Til next time!
Take care and I'll see you on the flip side!
Your BLeader,
A

Terrific Tuesdays!

Hey y'all!
We're aware that no reminder was sent out for the ONE meeting yesterday, so if you didn't happen to make it, no sweat. Here are some brief updates:

- For those of you who haven't been spammed enough, one more time now: SAVE THE DATE! DECEMBER EIGHT! This is going to be the training session hosted at USC's very own Doheny Library. This is a huge opportunity to get in on the best ways to help fight poverty! Currently the agenda details are unavailiable, but if anything comes up that we can tell you about we'll definitely keep you posted. Also, if there is anyone who is willing to come a little earlier and stay a little later in order to help set up and clean up, please let us know. You can do it through the facebook group, shooting Betsy an email, or even sending it to looma@usc.edu if you don't have access to either of those other options, and I'll forward your message to her. Thanks in advance you guys!

On to more pressing matters...
- The December 1 tailgate is going to be a unique one! Instead of just setting up our own tailgate, we're considering clipboarding at other people's tailgates. We're not encouraging you to go harass a bunch of drunken strangers, but if you've got a bunch of friends who plan on tailgating, they might be a good start to hang out and try to hit up a few people for sign-ups. Our meeting time and place is not yet determined, but I will definitely post it here once it is. We're also considering trying to get a table to set up someplace. That's still in the works at the moment. Clipboarding while everyone is standing in line to get in to the game has also been thrown out there. I'll post details as soon as I get them. Also, if you've got any comments or suggestions, be sure to send them our way!

- As you all may know, the semester is coming to a close and the winter holiday is approaching! Due to finals and the possibility that people will be heading home soon, next Tuesday will be the last planned meeting for our ONE chapter for the semester. Please be sure to come, and bring friends if you can! We're open to as many interested people coming as possible! VKC 158 5PM - 6PM!!
- With that said, we're also currently ranked NINE in the Campus Challange!! Great job guys! Keep up the good work! However, just because we're going to be on break doesn't mean that we can't still do our best to maintain our position! For anyone who hasn't read the fine print for the Campus Challenge (like me), there is actually a CUT OFF DATE for the top ten schools. Meaning, if our school is not in the top ten on this date, we will be DROPPED from the competition. So make sure to look for any opportunity you can to earn points over break! Every little thing counts! (Which also means if you happen to do something or see something interesting and (even remotely) related to ONE, make sure to send me something about it so I can post it in the blog!) Awesome job everyone! We're on the home stretch, I know we can make it!
- The Power 100 Summit! If anyone is interested in going to Washington DC to be apart of the Power 100 Summit (where representatives from the top 100 schools will gather and learn about even more opportunites to help fight poverty, listen to some pretty ace guest speakers AND get a free trip[!!!]) be sure to check out this link ( http://www.one.org/power100application/ ) and fill out the application! Participants will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis. The app is due by Dec. 5, so if this is something you're really feelin', then by all means you should definitely go for it!

And because we don't say it enough; we would just like to extend warm thanks to anyone and everyone who has helped contribute to our organization. Even if it was something as simple as signing up at our first tabling event, or joining the facebook group, we really appreciate you taking the time out to help us out and spread the word. Every person really counts in trying to eradicate poverty, or even just to make ONE a campus-recognized name. We're so grateful for the support everyone!


Last, but definitely not least, congratulations to ONE@USC's very own Sarah Hivner for her blog entry being posted on the National Campus Challenge Blog! If you haven't already read it, be sure to check it out here! Great job!

As always, if there are any questions, comments, corrections, submissions or suggestions, please feel free to shoot me an email at looma@usc.edu. I'll be more than happy to post what you have to say, correct myself, field questions (or direct you to someone who can) or even just answer crazy emails! =)

Don't forget to come to our next meeting everyone!
Hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend, and a great week.
Take care and stay safe!
See you on the flip side!

Your L3373R BLeader
A

Something To Contemplate

I'm not sure if I'm technically allowed to post this here, but since there has been a bit of a lull in posts I thought I'd give it a shot.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the above video, it is the music video for Fall Out Boy's song "I'm Like A Lawyer With the Way I'm Trying To Get You Off". I bet right now you're asking what this has to do with ONE. It doesn't directly. This has to do with what I personally would consider a sister-organization. Most of you are probably familiar with Invisible Children. For those who aren't, they are the child soldiers that are being abducted and forced into war in Northern Uganda. The org is trying to raise awareness about the situation there and how people like us can help.

I saw this music video while at the gym the other day, and I totally forgot what I was doing at the time simply because it was such a unique music video. It follows the plight of two young lovers who are separated when the boy is kidnapped and forced into the war. If you want to know how that all plays out, you should definitely take a gander at the vid if you haven't already. Invisible Children Inc., like ONE, is trying to make things better in an underdeveloped nation that is suffering from all kinds of not only economical, but political horrors. In the end this led to me think about whether things like this would still be happening if these countries weren't in such an economic quagmire. Would they have to continue to kidnap children and force them to become killers? Or would they instead send their children to schools so that they could learn to become effective political negotiators? Could the sons, brothers, cousins, lovers maintain their innocence if they could only escape the poverty that oftentimes leads to wars like this? And overall, if we could make a difference, wouldn't it be great to save them? ONE child at a time?

Think about it.

Til next time,
Your BLeader
A

Fantastic Opp!

Great news everyone! The official information for the NATIONAL ONE training event has been released! The ONE training session will be held on our campus at the University of Southern California!! If you or anyone you know is interested in participating in this great opportunity to not only learn about ONE, but also train in ways you can help fight poverty, here is the event information.



Event is free and open to the public

Come meet with ONE staff and other local volunteers and find out how
you can get involved in the fight to make poverty history!

Date: December 8, 2007

Time: Registration: 1:30-2:00 Training from 2-4:30PM

USC Campus - Doheny Memorial Library Room: 240

USC Campus Map:
http://www.usc.edu/private/about/visit_usc/upc_map_index.gif

RSVP or for questions contact Kim Smith, ONE Regional Field Organizer:
Kim@one.org or 502-475-5564



We'll definitely be there, so it also gives you an opportunity to meet people from USC's ONE organization in case you're even remotely interested in getting involved with us. Take care, hope you have all been having a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!
See you on the flip side!

Your BLeader,
A

Firsthand Experience

Here is a great post from fellow Trojan ONE-er, Sarah Hivner, on her firsthand experience in one of those countries that we're striving to help through our organization:

"I grew up in India and want to share some of my first hand experience of the extreme poverty there and why it is so important to spread awareness of poverty and do all we can to eradicate it through ONE and other organizations. One of my most vivid memories of poverty is flying into Mumbai airport. As you begin to descend, for miles and miles all you can see are slums. Efforts have been made in the past to clear this land of the illegal slums, but where would these thousands of people go? They just come back to the areas around the airport where no one who has any money wants to live because of the noise pollution and the poor condition of the land.
I have had many more personal experiences. At almost every single traffic light in cities in India there will be children waiting to come up to you to beg or try and sell something (that they might have actually stolen). I could just give them money and help them outright? Wrong. Money is not the solution. Most of these children are being controlled by older people; siblings, parents, other adults who are using them. It is a fact that people are more likely to give to children than anyone else because they are just children; so many times the children and women are the ones who are begging. I know many times if I gave children money they will go back to there "owner" who will force them to give up the money. At the same time I am conflicted because many of these children are begging for money because they have a certain quota to meet everyday and if they go home at night and have not met that quota they get beaten. So with children who beg for money I hated saying no, but at the same time I didn’t want to give them money which would probably end up being mis-spent by other anyway.
I think it is important for individuals to work through organizations who know the best ways to effectively eradicate poverty, because I feel many times it is hard to know whether you are really helping or hurting a situation."

Thanks so much to Sarah for sharing her experiences with us.
Fight On!

Recent Notes

Hello Everyone!!

The blog is back up and running! Thanks for your patience!

Just in case you didn't know, our ONE meetings have officially become open to all those who are interested in the organization! So please let anyone know who might want to attend! Meetings are on Tuesdays from 5pm - 6pm in VKC 158.

At this week's meeting:
- We discussed the December 1 tailgate party. We're considering combining it with tabling, clipboarding, or something similar because Dec. 1 is also AIDS day. Moreover, we're also thinking about doing it in correlation with UCLA students (don't kill us!) who are interested in starting their own ONE chapter at their campus.
-National ONE campaign training is going to be held at USC! Yay! The date is Dec. 8, but more details are to follow at a later date.
- The Student Government has been petitioned to sign a ONE campaign proclaimation! We'll keep you posted on how that went.
- The Weekly Campus Challenge: There are a set of stastics that ONE is challenging us to display in creative way. If you've got any suggestions, we'd be more than happy to hear them!
- Staff and faculty packets are ready! If you know any staff and/or faculty that would like to get involved in our cause we have packets that we can give to you to distribute to them so they can get to know more about us.
- As usual, there are a few opportunities to call councilmembers and other higher-ups to let them know that you support bills that will start eradicating poverty. Sign up for ONE at the official site (www.one.org) or contact us for more info.
- Last, but definitely not least, we would also love to hear from people about their experiences in developing countries. If you or someone you know is interested in writing about their travels, residence, volunteer work, or any other kind of experience in a developing nation, we would love to have a submission of about 250 words explaining what it was like. It will be posted here, at USC's very own ONE blog as soon as we get it! Email them in either .cwk or .doc format to looma@usc.edu.

That's all for our meeting updates!
As usual, the blog is always glad to have new writers, so anything you feel like talking about (with some relation to ONE, hopefully) we'd be happy to post and share with the ONE Trojan community.
Til next time, take care and fight on!
Your (L3373R) BLeader,
A

ONE@USC

Going the the University of Southern California offers all of a us great opportunities to get involved in groups and projects that have the power to make the world around us a better place. Before this year, ONE was an organization that was missing from the ranks of groups that USC gave the official nod to. About a month ago this organization really got a boost from tabling in front of Tommy Trojan. We managed to get a lot of sign ups and sell some wristbands. It just goes to show that there are a lot of people out there who are ready and willing to take advantage of the opportunities we are given to participate in something good.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with ONE, we are an organization that hopes to someday eradicate global poverty. We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization. We don't ask you to side with a certain political demographic, nor do we ask you for money. The main thing we want from people is their voice.

Everybody has the opportunity to contribute something in the fight against poverty. Even if it isn't some huge, donation of money, we can at least raise our voices and let the people who are in charge know that we want to make a change in the world. Even if it's something as simple as writing a letter to a congressman, or making a phonecall to show your support of policies that could make things better in other, more impoverished countries, that is the kind of unity that ONE strives for.

There is no denying that college students are a busy breed. But consider this: All it would take is maybe twenty minutes out of four years, just to spread the word to other people, in order to have helped make a difference. Because after all; knowledge is power right? And even if you don't have the time to make a major commitment, you might just run into someone who does. What will you say to them then? How can you help them find a great place to expand their horizons and use their powers for good?

Just say:
ONE at USC.

Til next time,
A