50 for 50 Day 46: ONE.org

It’s my 50th Birthday Celebration, Day 46. I had this bright birthday idea – because I feel so lucky and have pretty much everything I could ever need, I am asking people to get involved with charities, if they are so inspired, in lieu of any fabulous birthday presents you were planning on sending me (or not).

I am featuring a different charity every day for 50 days leading up to my 50th birthday to give you plenty of chances to get involved. I started on May 18. I wanted to give a voice to different good works around the globe. If you ARE inspired to take action, please leave me a comment and let me know that you did. This is all I want for my birthday – to spread some love and kindness. One thousand thanks.

My beautiful friend Karen of Chookooloonks, author of one of my favorite books of all time, suggested this organization. Karen is involved with ONE and is heading off to Kenya on a ONE trip soon.

Karen. She has many talents.

The cool thing about ONE is that it is an advocacy organization. They aren’t always fundraising – they are voice-raising.

From their website:
Backed by a movement of 2.5 million ONE members, ONE achieves change through advocacy. We hold world leaders to account for the commitments they’ve made to fight extreme poverty, and we campaign for better development policies, more effective aid and trade reform. We also support greater democracy, accountability and transparency to ensure policies to beat poverty are implemented effectively. ONE is not a grant-making organization and we do not solicit funding from the general public. As we have always said, at ONE, ‘we’re not asking for your money, we’re asking for your voice.’

ONE and its 2.5 million members, along with ONE’s predecessor organization DATA and other non-profit partners, have played an important role in persuading governments to support effective programs and policies that are making a measurable difference in fighting extreme poverty and disease. As a result of those programs, today nearly 4 million Africans have access to life-saving AIDS medication, up from only 50,000 people in 2002. Malaria deaths have been cut in half in countries across Africa in less than 2 years and 42 million more children are now going to school.

You can join up here.

Previously featured organizations:
Lupus Foundation of America
Scholarship America
Media Matters for America
Boys and Girls Club
Your Local Food Bank
Girls for a Change
Operation Smile
Wheels for Humanity
National Security Archive
Books for Africa
Seed Savers Exchange
MAP International
The Fresh Air Fund
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Arghand
Impact Personal Safety
Kristin Brooks Hope Center
Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund
Light Up the World Foundation
Planned Parenthood
Doctors Without Borders
Heifer International
Team Rubicon
Kiva
The Carter Center
Bikes Not Bombs
Friends of Maddie
ProPublica
Surfrider Foundation
Livestrong
United Through Reading
Operation Shower
The Liz Logelin Foundation
KidSave
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Kids Vs Global Warming
Help a Mother Out
Direct Relief International
WriteGirl
Accelerated Cure for Multiple Sclerosis
Women for Women
Epic Change
Amnesty International