OE Report - May 2008

In This Issue:

Mos Def Joins the Race for President

New Orleans Community Fellows Promote Emergency Preparedness

DC Health Care for You Helps District Residents Get the Care they Need

CEO Rey Ramsey Addressed Rutgers College Commencement Ceremony

Jobs at One Economy

One Economy Events

More from One Economy:

Mos Def Joins the Race for President

This month, One Economy re-launched its civic engagement website, 247Townhall.org with powerful new multimedia tools visitors can use to speak up on the issues they care about most.

247Townhall connects young people across the nation who have a wealth of opinions and ideas to share. One Economy Corporation created 247Townhall with generous support from the Marguerite Casey Foundation, to provide a free tool for expression and action. This site brings together everyday people who want to do good things for their community, forging a network for change.

The new 247Townhall features innovative campaign called “If I Were President," which brings together people from across the nation to say what they would do to lead out country. The campaign is raising awareness, encouraging action, and getting out the vote for the 2008 elections.

Mos Def stars in the pilot episode. Rehab, in partnership with One Economy, will produce episodes to be distributed daily leading up to Election Day. Each episode will be edited into 30-second PSAs for broadcast and 90-second episodes for online distribution.

Visit www.247Townhall.org and cast your vote.

New Orleans Community Fellows Promote Emergency Preparedness

For people living along the Gulf Coast, preparing for summer also means preparing for hurricane season. In partnership with the Allstate Foundation, One Economy has created online tools and on-the-ground support to help New Orleans residents create and implement personal emergency preparedness plans.

The Community Fellows—New Orleans residents with personal experience dealing with emergencies—work on-site in neighborhoods at-risk. Through collaboration with local nonprofit organizations including the Louisiana Association of Nonprofits and ACORN, the Community Fellows aim to serve over 100,000 residents and educate them in emergency preparedness. Their work includes organizing informative public events, holding group education sessions on emergency preparedness, and speaking to community and church groups on steps to take to prepare for emergencies.

"In the Digital Age, every American should have access to vital information, especially in areas as important as emergency preparedness," said One Economy Chief Executive Officer Rey Ramsey. "Now, through our collaboration with the Allstate Foundation, we will be using the power of the Internet to convey that information to residents and help them create personal, comprehensive emergency plans.”

The Community Fellows implement the strategies outlined by One Economy's online emergency preparedness resource. The Beehive's emergency section (www.theBeehive.org/BePrepared), features multimedia tools and information that help families plan for and respond to all kinds of emergencies, from natural disasters to outbreaks of disease.

The Community Fellows and emergency preparedness content are part of One Economy's vision of a 21st-century community in New Orleans. In the coming months, One Economy will partner with the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, a New Orleans-based nonprofit, to bring broadband access into GCHP's new affordable housing developments.

DC Health Care for You Helps District Residents Get the Care they Need

In Washington, DC, the need for improvements in health and health care access is undeniable. When compared with the 50 states, low-income people in the District of Columbia’s have the highest rates of cancer death, infant mortality, and HIV/AIDS transmission. Low-income DC residents are also among the least healthy in the country when it comes to chronic diseases like asthma, diabetes, and heart disease.

Last month, One Economy launched its new online resource, DC Healthcare for You (www.DCHealthcare4U.org) to empower DC residents to find quality health care and take advantage of low-cost and free services. Created with support from the Merck Company Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this bilingual web portal provides multimedia-rich tools to improve access to health care and health information for DC residents.

DC Healthcare for You provides:

• A zip code-based directory of doctors and services that allows users to find convenient help for their health problems
• An interactive quiz that helps users understand which low-cost or free healthcare assistance programs they qualify for, and simple instructions to assist users in applying for these programs
• Personalized advice from a top doctor in the DC area
• Calendars and schedules for low-cost and free health events and services
• Multimedia features to improve access to information, including videos showcasing local resources and providing information on how to apply, audio interviews with local doctors, and an audio site tour to help users make the best use of the site.

To promote this resource, One Economy is engaging in an extensive on-the-ground outreach campaign to promote the website through health clinics, community groups, and places of worship. Community Fellows will make this resource more accessible through one-on-one training and a mobile laptop lab.

CEO Rey Ramsey Addressed Rutgers College Commencement Ceremony

On May 22, One Economy Chief Executive Officer Rey Ramsey spoke to the newest graduates of Rutgers College in New Jersey about the challenges and opportunities in front of them. Speaking at his alma mater’s commencement ceremony, Ramsey called on the 2,055 graduates to take advantage of their unique chances to improve this world.

“These moments call us to make choices—choices that hold consequences. Sometimes those consequences affect us individually and sometimes they can change a household, a community, a country and indeed the world,” Ramsey told the graduates.

Read the Asbury Park Press coverage of the ceremony in the One Economy press room.

Jobs at One Economy

• Chief Marketing Officer
• Senior Web Designer
• AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer and VISTA Leader
• Interns: Public Policy/Business Development, Media Relations, Junior Web Editor, Communications

Learn more about these job opportunities and how to apply.

One Economy Events

International Summit for Community Wireless Networks
Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee, senior vice president, will speak on “Digital Inclusion and the Social Impact of Community Wireless Networks.”
Thursday, May 29
3:45 to 5:15 p.m.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Ableson Room
Washington, DC
Register online at www.wirelesssummit.org.

Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners (MACRUC) 13th Annual Education Conference
Howie Hodges, One Economy senior vice president, will participate in the panel entitled “Broadband: Is There an Urban Digital Divide?"
Tuesday, June 3
11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Colonial Williamsburg Lodge
Williamsburg, VA
Sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners; registration available on site

Building Assets, Strengthening Communities Conference
Cobi Jackson, Northwest region program officer, will take part in a panel discussion titled “Diverse Voices of Asset Building: Current Status and Future Direction.”
Wednesday, June 4
11 a.m.
Yakima Convention Center
Yakima, WA
Sponsored by the Washington Asset Building Coalition; Register online at www.frbsf.org.

Personal Democracy Forum 2008: Rebooting the System
Alec Ross, executive vice president, will discuss how Internet technology and trends are reinventing politics.
Monday, June 23 to Tuesday, June 24
Frederick P. Rose Hall
New York, NY
Register online at www.personaldemocracy.com