Bridgeport, Conn. – A signed proclamation declaring Bridgeport a ONE City will be presented by Mayor Bill Finch to Sacred Heart student Mike Fazzino in the City Hall Annex today at 3:15 pm.

“The City of Bridgeport is committed to the eradication of poverty and homelessness in our City and around the world,” said Mayor Bill Finch. “I commend Mike Fazzino and the Sacred Heart Chapter of ONE for their enthusiasm and hard work for this worthy cause. I look forward to partnering with them in their continued work in the Bridgeport community.”

Mike Fazzino, a Business Administration and Political Science student who is also minoring in Psychology, asked Mayor Bill Finch to sign the proclamation.  Fazzino is the leader of the Sacred Heart University ONE Chapter, one of the most active and effective ONE Chapters in the nation. ONE members, totaling 2.4 million across the United States, work in their local community to raise awareness of global extreme poverty and treatable, preventable disease and to build the political will to address the crises.

“At SHU, we’ve been working hard to let our friends know what we can all do to help fight poverty and get rid of diseases that are entirely preventable.  There’s so much work to be done, and it just makes sense to ask the community to get involved.  There’s always more that we can do and Bridgeport residents have been enthusiastic about tackling these tough issues,” said Fazzino.

What:	Mayor Bill Finch presents Mike Fazzino with a signed proclamation declaring Bridgeport a ONE City.
When::	TODAY, April 16 at 3:15 pm
Where::	Bridgeport City Hall Annex 999 Broad Street Bridgeport, CT
Why::	By becoming a ONE City, Bridgeport is using its voice as a community to support the global fight against extreme poverty and treatable, preventable disease

Fazzino and more than 150 members of the Sacred Heart ONE Chapter have been unstoppable.  They recently renovated the playground at the Luis Muoz Marin school.  At the playground, they painted a world map on the cement to help educate students where nations stricken with extreme poverty are located.  They have actively reached out to student groups across campus, athletic teams, Sacred Heart leadership and local high schools.  The SHU ONE Chapter members have signed a petition to ask the next president of the United States to commit to going to Africa in the next four years and brought a member of Congress to campus to talk about extreme poverty and preventable disease.

Fazzino’s remarkable leadership demonstrates the power of an individual to create meaningful, lasting change. A Woodbury resident, Fazzino began taking an active role in ONE when he took the reins of the Sacred Heart ONE Chapter, leading them to earn a top spot in the ONE Campus Challenge. As one of the top ten schools in this competition, the Sacred Heart ONE Chapter won $1,000 to institute their own poverty-fighting initiative on campus.

BACKGROUND

Through efforts on the ground in local communities across the United States and online at ONE.org, ONE members are reaching across political aisles to ask elected officials and candidates to increase efforts to fight preventable disease and extreme poverty.

Via millions of emails and letters and hundreds of thousands of phone calls to the President and Congress and on various campaign stops around the country, ONE members have asked that America do even more to lead the world in bringing hope and opportunity to the world’s poorest people.

Disease, famine and poverty are rampant problems that take the lives of thousands everyday while depriving millions of a future full of their potential. Solving these problems is a common interest in our community, our state, our nation and our world. Increasing our efforts at home will not only save the lives of millions of people – we will also transform how those people see us. It will increase our national security, protect our economy and build a better, safer world for us all.

The ONE Campaign aims to have a ONE City located in all 50 states by the end of 2008. We are over halfway there, thanks to the efforts of members like Mike Fazzino.