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Column: Live Below the Line
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New Canaan Country School Lives Below the Line
 

Kristen Ball and Stefan Borowski's 5th grade classroom at New Canaan Country School in Connecticut have worked together to develop menus for the Live Below the Line challenge.  

Kristen Ball and Stefan Borowski taught their students about issues of extreme poverty and explained what the Live Below the Line challenge is about.  Kristen and Stefan's students were surprised to learn that 1.2 billion people around the world are currently living in extreme poverty.  

Kirsten Ball will participate in the Live Below the Line challenge this year and will live on less than $1.50 a day for 5 days to help raise awarness about extreme poverty.  

Students used the worksheet pictured above to research foods that were nutritious and would fit within the budget of $1.50 a day.  The worksheet gave students practice researching, adding, subtracting, multiplying with deciminals and looking at quantities over time.  

As they prepared their teacher for the challenge, the students realized how little they could purchase for $1.50 a day.  They became more aware of everyday spending and realized that, thought living Below the Line will be challenging, it does not compare to the issues faced by people living in extreme poverty every day.  
Posted by Kristen Ball in Poverty for column Live Below the Line on Apr 30th, 07:21
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Live Below the Line for Happy Hearts Fund!
 

My name is Sydney Pedersen and I am Utah’s Live Below the Line Ambassador for 2013.

I chose to be an Ambassador to support Happy Hearts Fund because I met supermodel Petra Nemcova and she inspired me to support her work. Happy Hearts is an organization that helps children who have survived natural disasters by building schools to provide them with a sustainable education and help them get their lives back to normal. I have traveled with my family to developing countries and have spent time working in schools. My experiences abroad changed my whole perspective and helped me to see how much these children loved & need an education. I chose to Live Below the Line so that I can give back. I am committed to live on just $1.50 a day in food for five days to raise money for Happy Hearts Fund. I want to get the word out and challenge as many of my fellow students in Utah as possible to join me and raise money for children who have lost everything.   

I know it wont be easy but I am excited to make a change in the world, and I think if we work together we can make a big one! If just 50 students from 50 schools raise $50 each we could raise enough money to make a difference in thousands of lives and change entire communities around the world.

I would especially like to thank those who are supporting us. Pezauh Printing has been amazing and is printing up nearly a thousand posters for us at no charge! We also have had shirts donated by VOX Marketing Group. Other companies that have been especially helpful are Costa Vida, Halestorm Entertainment, Method Communications and of course Vivint, donated 3 trips to the top fundraising students in Utah to come with me to visit Happy Hearts Schools in Indonesia.

To find out how you can be involved go to https://www.livebelowtheline.com/us-hhf and join me by signing up to support Happy Hearts Fund this April 29th – May 3rd. Lets see how much change we can make with $1.50!

 
Posted by Sydney Pederson in What Can I Do? for column Live Below the Line on Apr 16th, 06:54
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Laura Odenthal: Why I am Living Below the Line

 

Live Below the Line is more than just a five-day challenge; it’s a perspective building exercise. The images of extreme poverty are burned into our minds. It always seems to be something that is happening to someone in some place far away. Live Below the Line offers a glimpse into what 1.4 billion people struggle with on a daily basis. I am a graduate student at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs focusing on international development and humanitarian assistance. I will Live Below the Line to gain a more nuanced understanding of the challenges that marginalized populations may face in the global arena.

I recently returned from a field intensive in India, where I worked alongside an NGO leading a grassroots movement to end sex trafficking. Meeting and engaging with the women who are at risk or affected by trafficking allowed me to see the reach of extreme poverty. A woman can become more susceptible to sex trafficking if she needs money for survival and has multiple mouths to feed. These atrocities are part of the much larger problem that extreme poverty can pervade every realm of a society. 

Since this will be my first time taking the challenge, I wasn’t sure how I could survive off a $1.50 a day. Growing up in New York, I was lucky enough to have access to education, food and clean water. I believe that through the Live Below the Line challenge, I will be able to develop a connection to extreme poverty. When I heard about the Buddy Matching program, it sounded like a great way to collaborate with someone else who is living below the line. I was paired with Amanda from Brooklyn. Amanda and I coordinate over Skype to plan meals and give each other feedback. The Buddy Matching program has been a great resource for the challenge and helps cultivate new friendships. Developing new relationships has allowed me to see that everyday people are the lifeblood of global movements. Through collective empowerment, the Live Below the Line challenge shows that idealism can turn into action.


Sign up here to Live Below the Line April 29 – May 3, 2013.  Register to get a buddy and inspire each other through the Live Below the Line week. If you have questions about the Buddy Matching program please contact us at gpp_usa@globalpovertyproject.com.

 
Posted by Laura Odenthal in What Can I Do? for column Live Below the Line on Mar 14th, 02:06
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We Dare Your Office to Live Below the Line
 

We dare your office to Live Below the Line. 

The Live Below the Line: Corporate Challenge Day will be a one-day event where companies across the nation will show support in raising awareness and funding to end extreme poverty. On April 30, 2013 the employees of participating companies will eat and drink on $1.50 a day for one full day, while fundraising and supporting one of our charity partners.

We have 11 different charity partners for whom you can fundraise. By participating in Live Below the Line: Corporate Challenge Day, your company will be featured on various social media platforms. Top fundraising corporate teams will be advertised on GlobalCitizen.org and included on our press-releases. The Live Below the Line campaign team will provide various resources and support for best practice on fundraising and marketing.

Participating in the Live Below the Line challenge provides companies with an excellent opportunity to demonstrate corporate social responsibility and inspire team-building within the office.

How To Sign-Up?

Email gpp_usa@globalpovertyproject.com for  instructions!  
Posted by Judith Rowland in Poverty for column Live Below the Line on Mar 12th, 05:24
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Alexa Wright: Why I am Living Below the Line
 

Everybody wants to feel that their life is worth something, that it is becoming all that they dream it to be. What most people often forget, is that some people just dream to live another day. My name is Alexa Wright, I am a seventeen year old singer and songwriter currently traveling to LA, NYC, London, Paris, Italy & Nashville to make a difference through music. You might have seen me modeling in Vogue Italia & Seventeen magazine and, though those were incredible opportunities, nothing compares to how exited I am to be working with the Global Poverty Project.    

I chose to do Live Below the Line mainly to get a better understanding of what living in poverty is truly like. We hear about all the trauma and economic distress going on around the world right now, and are experiencing it to a degree in our own life situations, but the level that these people face is unbelievable. Their faith and and passion for life reminds me why it is so important to believe in causes like Global Poverty Project and Live Below the Line. Every change in the world begins with one person. Don’t wait for that person to come along, BE that person.

I write music to relate to people, and to make a difference. To touch people who have felt alone, hurt, or abused because I have been in those same shoes. To help them realize that it doesn’t matter who you are or what your story is you can be the next president, superstar, or individual that helps end global poverty. There is such a giant world at your fingertips, and there is nothing stopping you from changing it. Live Below the Line is giving me a better understanding of life in extreme poverty. It’s giving me the chance to connect with poverty issues and to have a proximal experience of extreme poverty. Letting me wrap my head around the pain and hunger that so many children, adults, and seniors are going through everyday of their lives with a very dim light at the end of the tunnel, yet still they continue to fight for their rights to live.

The inspiration that lies within the palm of Live Below the Line’s hand is just one cause with the intention to change the world. To create a universe where every single individual can wake up knowing they have a roof over their head, a meal to eat, and a warm place to stay when its cold outside. I am so proud to represent the Global Poverty Project for this Live Below the Line campaign because it’s bringing us one step closer to real freedom. The freedom to dream, the freedom to love, and the freedom to live. 
Posted by Alexa Wright in What Can I Do?, Poverty for column Live Below the Line on Mar 8th, 01:25
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