'One Life, One Love'
Service group raises awareness about global poverty and disease
Steve Harrison
Issue date: 2/17/10 Section: News/Features
Vanderbilt's newest service organization follows in Bono's footsteps and gives students a firsthand look at the effects of extreme poverty, hunger, and disease.
Vanderbilt ONE, part of the national ONE campaign co-founded by musician and humanitarian Bono, emerged on the campus philanthropic scene this year to tackle an array of problems associated with preventable disease issues ranging from maternal and child health to clean water and sanitation.
Formerly titled "Face AIDS," the organization recognized the university's need to address a broader range of issues tied to preventable diseases. By joining the national ONE campaign, Vanderbilt ONE found a wider-reaching outlet for mobilizing the student population toward HIV/AIDS issues.
Wasting no time in making a new name for itself on campus, Vanderbilt ONE ran a number of high-profile events last semester. President Emily Zern is optimistic about her group's efforts to increase social awareness on campus. "We hope that our biggest accomplishment is to act as an advocacy and awareness organization to mobilize students around the issues of extreme poverty and preventable disease," said Zern.
Vanderbilt ONE's first high-profile event was its inaugural Hunger Banquet in October.
Students attending the event received an allotment of food based on a random assignment of financial standing. This rationing demonstrated the extreme wealth disparity in countries all over the world and its effects on basic food purchases.
ONE also participated in December's World AIDS Day event featuring keynote speaker former Senator Bill Frist. The event provided insight into the HIV/AIDS crisis and discussed what actions are currently being taken by the United States and other countries to combat the disease.
This semester, Vanderbilt ONE will become involved in projects dealing with issues such as the effects of extreme poverty on children and the current catastrophe in Haiti.
ONE plans to host a special screening of the documentary "One Peace at a Time," a film that focuses on the possibility of providing basic human rights to children worldwide, on Feb. 24 at 8:00 p.m. The documentary features thoughts from Nobel laureates Muhammad Yunus and Stephen Chu on how the global community can best attain rights for every child, as well as music from Ben Harper and Bob Dylan.
Vanderbilt ONE, part of the national ONE campaign co-founded by musician and humanitarian Bono, emerged on the campus philanthropic scene this year to tackle an array of problems associated with preventable disease issues ranging from maternal and child health to clean water and sanitation.
Formerly titled "Face AIDS," the organization recognized the university's need to address a broader range of issues tied to preventable diseases. By joining the national ONE campaign, Vanderbilt ONE found a wider-reaching outlet for mobilizing the student population toward HIV/AIDS issues.
Wasting no time in making a new name for itself on campus, Vanderbilt ONE ran a number of high-profile events last semester. President Emily Zern is optimistic about her group's efforts to increase social awareness on campus. "We hope that our biggest accomplishment is to act as an advocacy and awareness organization to mobilize students around the issues of extreme poverty and preventable disease," said Zern.
Vanderbilt ONE's first high-profile event was its inaugural Hunger Banquet in October.
Students attending the event received an allotment of food based on a random assignment of financial standing. This rationing demonstrated the extreme wealth disparity in countries all over the world and its effects on basic food purchases.
ONE also participated in December's World AIDS Day event featuring keynote speaker former Senator Bill Frist. The event provided insight into the HIV/AIDS crisis and discussed what actions are currently being taken by the United States and other countries to combat the disease.
This semester, Vanderbilt ONE will become involved in projects dealing with issues such as the effects of extreme poverty on children and the current catastrophe in Haiti.
ONE plans to host a special screening of the documentary "One Peace at a Time," a film that focuses on the possibility of providing basic human rights to children worldwide, on Feb. 24 at 8:00 p.m. The documentary features thoughts from Nobel laureates Muhammad Yunus and Stephen Chu on how the global community can best attain rights for every child, as well as music from Ben Harper and Bob Dylan.
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