Remarkable People

Declare Yourself is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to empower and encourage every eligible 18-29 year-old in America to register and vote in local and national elections. Using the power of strategic media and retail partnerships, celebrity spokespeople, and most importantly, mobile and Internet technology, Declare Yourself's campaign blankets the landscape of popular culture, as well as universities and high schools, with a simple, clear message: REGISTER and VOTE!

Since 2004, Declare Yourself has registered almost 4 million young people via our on-line registration tool, on-location efforts and Ultimate College Bowl contest, contributing significantly to the unprecedented turnout of youth voters in the 2008 Presidential Election -- 24 million – a major increase from 2004.

Declare Yourself is expanding and intensifying its youth engagement activities in 2009. Between elections, Declare Yourself will focus on empowering young people as next-gen citizens, dedicated to national and local service, thoughtful activism, and shared civic expression. To accomplish our goals, we build partnerships with civic-minded philanthropic, marketing, and media organizations around the country. We are also affiliated with two related initiatives: RemixAmerica.org and BornAgainAmerican.org.

Here are just a few highlights from 2008:

• More than 2.2 million young people used our online registration tool or registered through our Ultimate College Bowl national contest
• More than 6 million people viewed our viral videos and public service announcements
• Our “Only You Can Silence Yourself” print, video and billboard campaign (featuring actress Jessica Alba) achieved more than 100 million impressions through publications such as People, Seventeen, Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated and US Weekly
• More than 5 million people received text reminders to their cellphones
• A month-long registration drive with the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” yielded thousands of registrations and raised national awareness

Major publications recognized Declare Yourself’s emergence as a youth-oriented brand. The New York Times called us a “different kind of cultural phenomenon” (8/14/08). The Los Angeles Times (10/31/08) noted: “… Declare Yourself may turn out to have been one of this historic election's decisive factors. Lear emphasized the importance of the youth vote when most political professionals considered that wasted time.” Brandweek wrote: 

“Another high-profile, celebrity-centered link-up encompassing politics, marketing and civic awareness was initiated by Declare Yourself, a nonpartisan voter-registration group founded by legendary TV producer Norman Lear. Its eye-catching campaign to encourage voter involvement roped in A-list young stars like America Ferrera, Zac Efron and Jessica Alba…” (9/22/08) 

For the 2008 Election, Declare Yourself enlisted an unprecedented group of partners:

MOBILE CONTENT
Declare Yourself worked with Cricket Wireless and other mobile content partners to engage new voters through the mobile devices they use daily. We have sent more than five million targeted text messages to remind 18-29 year olds to register.

INTERNET
Declare Yourself’s campaigns leveraged the enormous reach of Yahoo!, MySpace, thinkMTV, Google, AOL and Good Search. Our 60 +viral videos, featuring stars such as Leo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Rosario Dawson, Wilmer Valderama, Ed Helms, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin in “Superbad”) among many others, are fully distributed across the Internet and have generated millions of views on-line (and hundreds of thousands of resulting registrations).

TRADITIONAL MEDIA
Media company partners enlisted to drive young people to our on-line voter registration tool through PSAs and show placements included: Fox, MTV, Clear Channel, Comedy Central, Spike TV, Lifetime TV, FoxSports, Cosmo Girl, GOOD Magazine, and Seventeen Magazine.

RETAIL
Retail partnerships were in place with Starbucks, American Eagle Outfitters, the Gap, Harper Collins Book Publishers, W Hotels, Six Flags, Borders, and many others.

OUTREACH
Declare Yourself partnered with Voto Latino, the leading Hispanic voter registration organization, the NAACP, Student Public Interest Research Groups, Headcount, The Youngest Candidate, Why Tuesday?, and the Warped Tour, among many others.

ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY SUPPORT
Declare Yourself enlisted film actress Jessica Alba, ABC’s “Ugly Betty” America Ferrera and Hayden Panettiere from NBC’s “Heroes” as its chief spokespersons. Declare Yourself’s list of advisors and friends included actors Drew Barrymore, Tyra Banks, Adrian Grenier, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Cannon and Mandy Moore; sports figures Carlos Boozer, Freddy Adu, Brady Quinn and Stuart Scott, among many others.

Global Fund and the Global Health Initiative

SMART Aid

Who We Are

ONE is a campaign and advocacy organisation with more than 2 million members committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African policy makers and activists.

 

What We Do

At ONE, we achieve change through advocacy. We hold world leaders to account for the commitments they've made to fight extreme poverty, and we press for better development policies, more effective aid and trade reform. We also support greater democracy, accountability and transparency in how these resources are being deployed.

 

How We Work

ONE works closely with policy experts, African leaders, and anti-poverty activists to mobilise public opinion in support of tested and proven programs to fight poverty. At ONE, we believe the fight against poverty is not about charity, but about justice and equality.

What We Do

Working with more than 3,000 local partner organizations, we work with people living in poverty striving to exercise their human rights, assert their dignity as full citizens and take control of their lives.

We focus our efforts in these areas:

Development

We work with and through partners and communities on long-term programs to eradicate poverty and combat injustice.

Emergencies

We deliver immediate life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters or conflict, and help to build their resilience to future disasters.

Campaigning

We are part of a global movement for change. We raise public awareness of the causes of poverty and encourage ordinary people to take action for a fairer world.

Advocacy

We press decision-makers to change policies and practices that reinforce poverty and injustice.

Policy research

We can speak with authority as a result of thorough research and analysis, and the real experience of our partners in developing countries.

 

Oxfam’s commitment to human rights

We believe that respect for human rights will help lift people out of poverty and injustice, allow them to assert their dignity and guarantee sustainable development.

When we speak about having a rights-based approach, this is what we mean.

We believe that everyone should have the right to:

A livelihood

Oxfam works at many levels with partners and communities in support of their right to a decent living.

We argue for better working conditions and better protection of the natural resources on which poor communities depend. We campaign for fairer trade rules at the global level, and for better policies at the national level. We work with partners and communities to implement programs that lead to self-sustaining livelihoods, with a strong focus on women.

Basic services

Being healthy and educated is an essential step along the route out of poverty.

Yet millions of people have no access to health services, schooling or safe water. They are constantly at risk from illnesses that are easily prevented or treated, or are unable to read and write, which means exclusion from their society. We campaign for more and better aid, with a focus on basic services. At the program level, Oxfam provides health training and clean water supplies, as well as funding schools and teacher training.

Be safe from harm

War and natural disasters cause untold suffering for millions of people around the world and keep them locked in poverty.

In disasters, people are at greater risk of violence, disease and abuse. We save lives in emergencies by providing shelter, clean water and sanitation. And by working with local partners, we help communities to rebuild and to better prepare themselves for future disasters.

Be heard

People living in poverty often have little influence over decisions that affect their lives.

Oxfam supports partners and communities to understand their rights and to speak out about their needs and concerns. And, with others, we get people in power to listen and act.

Be treated as equal

People who are marginalized – because they are women, disabled or members of a religious or ethnic minority – are more likely to be poor.

We combat such discrimination, and work with these groups to ensure they have the means to enjoy equal access to jobs, essential services and influence.

Who are we?

Whatever It Takes is a unique artwork campaign launched by 21st Century Leaders Foundation, charity reg. no. 1061376.

We have gathered 660 leaders: royalty, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, business leaders, actors, musicians, artists, fashion designers, sportsmen and sportswomen and writers.

Many of the world's most celebrated public figures have put their names to our projects. By becoming 21st Century Leaders, these public figures are pledging to do ‘whatever it takes’ to address issues of the 21st Century.

We work with our leaders to assist and encourage a generation of influencers to take ownership, engage in positive action, raise awareness among their communities, and champion the solutions to poverty and environmental degradation.


Whatever It Takes

We are proud to introduce you to the Whatever It Takes collection, featuring ‘symbols of hope for the 21st Century’ drawn by leaders in the worlds of fashion, film, television, music and sport.

The signed artwork donated by each Leader is his or her original work, and has been donated for the exclusive use of the Whatever It Takes campaign which has so far raised over $3,000,000 for charitable projects worldwide.

Whatever It Takes supports 21st Century Leaders Foundation in its work for key global development causes including poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and the protection of children.

If you’d like to learn more about what we do, take a look at our causes.

AIDS kills an estimated 8,500 people every single day

60% of these live in Sub-Saharan Africa

 

About (RED)

(RED)'s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help fight AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT) RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programmes in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children. American Express RED was the first (PRODUCT) RED available and since then other iconic brands have also embraced the (RED) concept.

Gap, Converse, Giorgio Armani, Motorola, Apple, Dell and Microsoft have launched stylish (PRODUCT) RED phones, iPods, PCs and software.  Every (PRODUCT) RED generates REDmoney. Since (RED) launched, more than $100 million of REDmoney has been contributed to the Global Fund, which has gone straight into programmes focussing on women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Rwanda and Swaziland. For example, the programmes it has funded have provided life-changing support to over 500,000 children orphaned by AIDS and information and testing to help millions of people stay HIV-free, as well as supporting people living with HIV/AIDS.

 

REDmoney

REDmoney is the contribution you make towards eliminating AIDS in Africa every time you use your Card.

How it works: each time you use American Express RED, we send 1% of your total spend to the Global Fund, the organisation nominated by (RED), to distribute REDmoney to where it's needed most in Africa.

Since its launch in March 2006, more than $100 million has been generated by (RED) partners and events for the Global Fund which is a fantastic achievement.

 

What does my money buy?

Weekly groceries
Pay for your weekly grocery shopping* on the Card and after one year and you could provide:
•  15 rapid test kits which detect HIV
•  AND 52 single dose (nevirapine) treatments to reduce the transmission of HIV from mother-to-child

Petrol
You're filling the car every week* to get yourself to work, why not use this opportunity to make a difference and pay with the Card. After a year this could provide:
•  One month's worth of antiretroviral (ARV) for 1 person living with HIV (bearing in mind that this must be ongoing, lifelong treatment)
•  AND 38 single dose (nevirapine) treatments to reduce the transmission of HIV from mother-to-child

*average Household Weekly Spend ONS 2004-5

You can keep track of your REDmoney contributions online at americanexpress.co.uk/myaccount and on your monthly statement.