Blog Action Day 2007/Global Day of Action Against Poverty

So, I kind of screwed up and forgot to post about caring more for the environment yesterday, as it was Blog Action Day around the world. However, I/we did actually did launch a new campaign, Plea for Plastic, on the Northpark Wordpress site and myspace page yesterday so really, I did participate after all. More info about the campaign and effort which reached at least 14,000,000 readers is available at the Blog Action site.

In other news related to social justice, today is The Global Day of Action Against Poverty...I got the following email from ONE. I'm going to call right now, are you?

Dear Ryan,

Today is our day—the Global Day of Action Against Poverty—the day for the billion people around the world who live in extreme poverty.

Today, ONE members and activists from partner organizations are walking the halls of Congress delivering tens of thousands of letters—most of them from members like you—about the Jubilee Act.

Today, Reverend David Duncombe is eating for his first full day after his 40 day fast.

Today, by making thousands of phone calls to Congress asking them to cosponsor the Jubilee Act, we can make the difference between passage and failure for this crucial piece of legislation.

You can make a call in just one minute by:

1. Looking over this set of talking points
2. Calling 1-800-786-2663
3. Going here to register your call—this helps us keep track of which offices need to receive more calls.

The Jubilee Act calls for debt relief for some of the world's poorest nations. Experience proves that debt relief for countries committed to investing in their people's future is one of the most effective ways to fight extreme poverty. And it's easy to see why.

Haiti spends twice as much repaying debt as it does on health care. Eliminating this debt would allow Haiti to spend more on programs that would help the extremely poor like Tanzania did in 2000. When Tanzania's debt was canceled, that government was able to eliminate school fees, sending 1.6 million children to school almost overnight.

Since we started taking action on the Jubilee Act last week, key Senators introduced a companion bill, a critical step in the process. That's just the beginning. If we make our voices heard on Capitol Hill, if we get the phones ringing off the hook, we can put momentum behind the Jubilee Act. And it all starts with you.

Please dial 1-800-786-2663 and ask your elected officials to co-sponsor the Jubilee Act.

A billion people around the world live in extreme poverty. They don't have a voice in Congress. Let's lend them ours. On this Global Day of Action Against Poverty, take a minute, make a call, and help to save their lives.

Thank you,

Susan McCue, ONE.org