A very Oxfam homecoming on the Coldplay tour!

Check out this great blog post from our Oxfam On Tour blog written by guest blogger Najat Elsayed, Oxfam America CHANGE leader and on-tour coordinator for Oxfam America on the Coldplay tour in 2005-2006.

Last night I came back home to my Oxfam family by volunteering at the Houston concert. My life has changed a lot since I used to tour with Coldplay in 2005 and 2006 as the Oxfam representative on tour. I got married, had a beautiful baby girl and now I am working as a college prep counsellor at a Houston private school. Although life will always continue to move forward when I volunteered yesterday it was as if I was back at home with my Oxfam and Coldplay family. I could feel the love and support and shared stories and laughter among friends old and new.

When I was on tour six years ago fans would stop by our booth to say “Howdy” and sign up to learn more about the campaign. Last night it was the same story but with new fans and a new campaign. They all wanted to know how they could be a part of this global movement and help. This brought back to me one thing with full force, a rekindling of the passion that I have always had in my heart to help end hunger and poverty through supporting and raising awareness about Oxfam and the GROW campaign. I actually began to get a little teary eyed when I was watching the concert after working as a volunteer at the booth.

Why was I getting a bit emotional I thought, perhaps the memories of all the amazing things we did to help people in need while on tour, maybe it was the family atmosphere that Jackie, EJ, Pauline, Sheri, Mark, the band of course, fans, and the entire Coldplay team had given me when I was on tour. It was very possible that it was the amazing Coldplay music that got me moving and touched my heart yet again. Perhaps it was the fact that I was getting involved again with Oxfam and doing my part however little it was to make a difference in making sure that everyone should have enough to eat no matter where they are. Most likely it was a combination of all of the above.

Do you want to get passionate about something? Why don’t you get involved and see how we can all grow together in making a difference in being the change we wish to see in the world. I guarantee you will have wonderful memories that will last you a lifetime and even better you will do your part to help make this world a better place in joining the Oxfam Family.

Hopefully see you soon, Najat.

If you would like to join the ‘Oxfam family’ sign up for the Oxfam Action Corps, the Coldplay tour or take action anytime at http://actfast.oxfamamerica.org .

Great Post by the Minnesota Action Corps featuring Flogging Molly!

Flogging Molly Concert

Hi there, my name is Liz Harper and I am one of the newly trained lead volunteer organizers for Oxfam Action Corps of Minnesota! I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself since I will be the one keeping you all updated over the course of this next exciting year! I am a mom, a student and a chiropractic assistant so I stay busy, but I love making time for Action Corps. Since returning from D.C. with my co-leader Kim Kokket, (see the previous blog to hear more about the trip!) we have been staying active getting the group back up and rolling! Before we could even sit down and discuss our plans, we were already getting invited to the Flogging Molly show at "The Brick" in downtown Minneapolis! We happily accepted!

Flogging Molly are long time fans of Oxfam and we have had a presence at many of their shows over the years. This was my first time seeing them and it was awesome! Jessica, Kim and I all attended the show that night, and I have to admit it was pretty cool getting let in on the "Band's list". We set-up next to the merchandise table of The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. Although we didn't get to see them perform, from what we could hear they put on a great show!

We all had a great time talking to people at the show about Oxfam, and we got alot of people to sign on to help fix our broken food system! 

Check out this awesome blog post courtesy of the NYC Action Corps about their successful pie and food aid petition deliveries!

Oxfam Action Corps NYC Volunteers outside of Gillibrand and Schumer's Offices

On Friday, April 27th, Oxfam Action Corps NYC volunteers visited the offices of Senator Gillibrand and Senator Schumer with a special package - 67% of a pie and petition signatures to tell Washington to Stop playing with food aid!

A third of of the pie had already been eaten already with a  fork  labeled  ‘special  interests.’  Just as 32 cents out of every dollar going to U.S. food aid goes into the pockets of special interests, only 68% of the pie made it to the congressional staff.

Right now Washington is playing with our global food aid programs, with regulations that protect special interests at the expense of hungry people. These regulations cost taxpayers up to $500 million per year.

It’s time to put an end to the wasteful special interest deals by reforming food aid programs in the 2012 Farm Bill. If we cut the red tape we can reach up to 17 million more people with life-saving aid at no additional cost to taxpayers. Save millions more lives, without spending a dime. It’s a no-brainer.

You too can take action and Tell Washington to stop playing with other people's food.

Below is an interesting infographic outlining how current food aid dollars are spent.

6th Annual Oxfam Action Corps Lobby Day

By guest blogger Kristen Miller, intern with Oxfam’s Boston office.

 
On May 15^th in Washington D.C Oxfam Action Corps Organizers lobbied over 52 Senators and Representatives from over fifteen states, and I got to join them for my first experience in grassroots advocacy.
 We urged Members of Congress to fix the food aid program by cutting waste, putting the interests of people in need and American taxpayers ahead of industry lobbyists. Oxfam doesn’t take US government funds, but recognizes that cutting government red tape would help deliver more life saving food aid at the same price. Today 32 cents of every tax dollar spent on food aid goes to waste or to special interests.  It's spent on shipping overseas, markups for shipping regulations, markups for purchasing from preferred U.S growers and overhead. 75% of U.S food aid must be shipped from the U.S on preferred U.S vessels; these special interest regulations cost U.S taxpayers over $491 million annually.

Together with the Action Corps organizers we urged our representatives to make our dollars count! We delivered over 10,000 petitions from Oxfam supporters and asked for food aid to be purchased locally in developing countries rather than have it shipped from the U.S. This would allow more money to directly go to the purchase of food as well as support local farmers in these developing countries. With these reforms the US would be able to respond to crises up to 14 weeks faster and reach 17 million more people with lifesaving food aid. When people are starving the time it takes for food to be delivered can make all the difference!

We are counting on our Members of Congress to take urgent action and reform food aid provisions in the Farm Bill.  Oxfam staff will continue to deliver our message as debate continues in Washington.  All in all, the 6^th Annual Oxfam Action Corps Training lobby day was a huge success—as described by Jessica Shao an organizer from San Francisco (pictured here with Amy Torregrossa), “The lobby day was a wonderful experience, I’m very thankful for this opportunity to experience our democracy.”  For my part, I’ll take this training in grassroots advocacy with me in coming years as I continue my studies in France and complete my degree in International Affairs at Northeastern University.

Oxfam Action Corps kicks off its 6th year!

This Tuesday marked a successful conclusion of the 6^th annual training of the Oxfam Action Corps, conducting more than 52 lobby visits on Capitol Hill!  Hailing from 15 US cities, the participants in the Oxfam Action Corps training learned about Oxfam's GROW campaign for global food justice and how to serve as a resource for people back home who want to join the effort. 
Gathered in Washington DC May 12-15, our group spent 3 days in an intensive training and one day lobbying on Capitol Hill to improve US food aid.  From this point forward our new organizers will focus on reaching people in our home cities, welcoming them to the local volunteer group, and bringing Oxfam’s reform agenda to the attention of the Congressional representatives and other campaign targets.

We got to hear from several alumni who spoke about their experience with the Action Corps.  According to one, “Oxfam Action Corps really helped me professionally… It prepared me for a huge career change, directing a small non-profit.”  Another said “Oxfam Action Corps has given me a ton of confidence, gaining the knowledge and being able to speak to people about the issues.”  And another said “Oxfam Action Corps was my first foray into a long love affair with Oxfam. I have Action Corps to thank for where I am.”

Thanks again to all who contributed to the training, and here's to a great year ahead!

New faces! Oxfam Action Corps welcomes its 2012 Organizers

May 12-15 marks the 6th annual Oxfam Action Corps advocacy and leadership training in Washington DC, and we’re very excited to introduce to you this year’s Organizers!  Twenty-nine Oxfam supporters from 15 US cities are stepping up as local leaders willing to provide a helping hand to anyone in their city who wants to fight hunger and poverty with Oxfam.  They bring experience in organizing, a passion for global justice, and a commitment to provide leadership in their city.  Now they need YOU to join them!

In Washington DC they will learn advocacy and leadership skills and then hit Capitol Hill for a day of lobby visits with their legislators, in which they will deliver Oxfam’s petition to fix US food aid. Click here to sign the petition.

Once they get home the Organizers will be revved up for action and counting on you to provide your help and ideas!  Please reach out and say hi – we’ve provided contact info below the slide show.

Feel free to contact any of our new organizers about getting involved!

Kalen and Theresa, Albuquerque, NM- newmexico@oxfamactioncorps.org 

Jackie and Shannon, Austin, TX- austin@oxfamactioncorps.org

Carolina and Rebecca, Boston, MA- boston@oxfamactioncorps.org

Heather and Kayla, Burlington, VT- vermont@oxfamactioncorps.org

Adam and Jessica, Chicago, IL- chicago@oxfamactioncorps.org

Djeynaba and Jessica, Columbus, OH- columbus@oxfamactioncorps.org

Amy and Lance, Des Moines, IA- iowa@oxfamactioncorps.org

Hope and Jennifer, Indianapolis, IN- indianpolis@oxfamactioncorps.org

Emma and Shayla, Kansas City, MO- kansascity@oxfamactioncorps.org

Elise and Kathryn, Madison, WI- madison@oxfamactioncorps.org

Elizabeth and Kim, Minneapolis, MN- minnesota@oxfamactioncorps.org

Jill and Taryn, New York, NY- newyorkcity@oxfamactioncorps.org

Lindsy, Philadelphia, PA- philadelphia@oxfamactioncorps.org

Amy and Jessica, San Francisco, CA- sanfrancisco@oxfamactioncorps.org

Francis and Melissa, Seattle, WA- seattle@oxfamactioncorps.org

Oxfam Action Corps celebrates International Women's Day!

This week around the world, Oxfam and the GROW campaign are celebrating International Women's Day (March 8), honoring women who work the land, feed their families, and plow the way forward to more sustainable agricultural economies here and abroad. 

In the US, the Oxfam Action Corps will be holding a variety of events, from panels of community leaders to film screenings to potlucks.  Check for events in your city by clicking the blog links on this page or by visiting the Oxfam America events calendar. 

Oxfam supporters at an Oxfam Action Corps event, New York City.

Oxfam supporters are taking action in our communities as a part of Oxfam’s global efforts this week, including a major delegation of Sisters on the Planet Ambassadors who will converge on Washington DC to advocate that the US Congress fix food aid.

You can also take action right from home!  Send a beautiful e-card today to a woman in your life who has helped make your world a better place.  And if you want to throw an event to give her the Oxfam International Women’s Day Award, click here to download our action guide for doing so (it’s the top link on the left of the page).

Worldwide, millions of women engage in small scale farming and are leaders in the fight against hunger, yet they face discrimination in access to resources like land and credit.  Here at home, in each of our communities, women are among the innovators who are building a better food system that provides healthy and sustainable choices.  We hope you will join us this month to celebrate women’s achievements here and worldwide in changing the way we grow, eat, and share food so that everyone has enough to eat, always.