VERO BEACH — The Global Poverty Project’s Road Scholars have hit the highway, inspiring communities and members of their own generation to take action against extreme poverty.
On the tour, their free presentation in Vero Beach will be hosted by the five Rotary Clubs of Indian River County and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (UUFVB) on Monday, March 4, at 5:30 p.m. at the Emerson Center .
They’ve got a van, a map, and a mission: to reach 20,000 people across the United States with a multi-media presentation about ending extreme poverty within a generation.
From Florida to California, the GPP’s Road Scholars are sharing stories from 1.4 billion people living on less than $1.50 per day, the World Bank definition of extreme poverty.
The presentation educates and empowers viewers giving them practical ways to contribute; like buying fair trade products, lobbying politicians for better foreign aid, and volunteering with meaningful projects.
“There are lots of people talking about extreme poverty, but there wasn’t a coherent narrative or conversation around how we can end it within our lifetime,” says Hugh Evans, CEO and Co-Founder of the GPP.
Area Rotary club presidents Rip Tosun, Paul Dritenbas, Tammy Adams, Kristie Woodward, and Bonnie Simpson and UUFVB Rev. Scott Alexander concur with Evans and have joined together to help GPP bring the conversation to Vero Beach, according to local Rotary spokesperson Tammy Adams.
To date, over 20,000 people in the United States and 60,000 in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand have seen the presentation. On the U.S. 2013 tour, GPP will present at over 100 colleges, high schools, and community organizations.
Along the way, the team will invite audiences to participate in GPP’s Live Below the Line campaign, which challenges participants to live on $1.50 per day for food and drink for five days, raising money for partner charities like the United Nations Foundation and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF.)
Over 1,216,000 Rotarians in more than 220 countries and geographical areas are united in a worldwide campaign to eradicate polio plus conduct service projects and programs locally, nationally, and globally targeted on these six areas of focus:
· Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
· Disease prevention and treatment
· Water and sanitation
· Maternal and child health
· Basic education and literacy
· Economic and community development
Since July 2011, the GPP has worked with Rotary to run The End of Polio campaign. This campaign shares the remarkable story of progress towards polio eradication, while helping build the public support and momentum required to close the funding gap threatening eradication efforts.
So far the campaign has mobilized more than 25,000 people and secured an additional $118 million in pledges for polio eradication.
For information on Rotary, please visit the website www.Rotary6930.org or www.Rotary.org.
GPP designed Live Below the Line as a symbolic action taken by participants to spark dialogue about current victories in poverty reduction and the potential for the future. Hugh Jackman, actor and GPP spokesperson, has lived below the line.
“This is an incredible campaign that really gives us the chance to understand the realities of extreme poverty and highlights the challenges that over one billion people are faced with every day and urges us to do something about it,” Jackman stated.
The reality is that 27,000 people continue to die every day due to causes that can be prevented.
“It’s the greatest challenge of our generation, and surely we need to be debating in the public forum how we can end it in our lifetime. That’s exactly what the GPP is trying to achieve,” explained founder Hugh Evans.
Learn more and follow the 1.4 billion reasons for the nationwide journey at www.GlobalPovertyProject.org.
