ONE Campaign To Be Featured During IDOL GIVES BACK Tonight on FOX
Los Angeles, CA – The ONE Campaign will be highlighted during the IDOL GIVES BACK awareness and fundraising event airing tonight on FOX (7:30-10:00 PM ET/PT). The broadcast will feature a special message from Bono, ONE co-founder and U2’s lead singer, who traveled to Tanzania for the show; and members of the band Daughtry, led by former AMERICAN IDOL contestant and ONE member Chris Daughtry, will share what they saw on a recent trip to Uganda.
“IDOL GIVES BACK is a unique moment where the forces of inspiration, compassion and music come together to help make the world a better place. ONE is honored to be a part of the show,” said ONE President and CEO, David Lane.
“Visiting Uganda opened our eyes to the kind of difference that people here can make in the lives of people thousands of miles away. When we were in Uganda, we saw people with an amazing will to live, to find ways past the incredible obstacles in their way,” said Chris Daughtry. “To see first-hand what Americans have done to help those struggling to survive extreme poverty and diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria is absolutely inspiring. But there is so much more to do. That’s why we are members of ONE and why we are urging people to add their voices to the call for change.”
The event will raise awareness and funds to benefit various U.S. and international charities. During the show, viewers will be able to make donations via toll-free lines and the Internet.
IDOL GIVES BACK has been recognized as a life-changing program, earning praise from many of the world’s best known figures including President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Last season, IDOL GIVES BACK raised over $76 million for charity and garnered a prestigious Governor’s Award Emmy. This special music celebration will raise awareness and funds to benefit six charities including: Children’s Defense Fund, The Children’s Health Fund, The Global Fund, Make It Right, Malaria No More and Save the Children’s U.S. Programs.
ONE is a broad-based advocacy organization uniting people from all walks of life to press governments for policies and programs that target extreme poverty and preventable global diseases. In the United States, through grassroots efforts, high-profile events, and online action at ONE.org, ONE members reach across political aisles to urge elected officials and candidates to increase efforts to fight poverty and disease through specific legislation on HIV/AIDS, child and maternal health, malaria, debt cancellation, more effective international assistance, fair trade, and a tough approach to corruption.
Just last month, for instance, tens of thousands of ONE members launched an online campaign to convince the U.S. Senate to boost funds for international assistance work. Those funds were in jeopardy by an ill-conceived budget proposal that risked the assistance America provides to people in the world’s poorest regions – assistance like affordable, effective medicines, the resources for basic food and water needs, and expanded opportunity for economic gains. As a result of ONE’s and other related efforts, the Senate approved a $2.6 billion increase for this simple lifesaving work. Without this funding, progress which the U.S. has sparked in the developing world could have stalled, at best, or put in reverse, at worst.