Stefani Morones and Jane Olivia Paik, communication studies majors at Loyola Marymount University, were recognized for their work raising student awareness of poverty and disease in Africa by being asked to address a City Hall news conference with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Morones and Paik are co-presidents of ONE@LMU, a local chapter of the global ONE campaign, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing public attention to issues such as the AIDS epidemic in Tanzania and the need to raise money for the impoverished women in Uganda. The LMU chapter has been so successful among students it was recently named one of the top 40 chapters across the country. Villaraigosa declared Los Angeles a ONE city during the news conference.
“The opportunity to share our accomplishments in front of the entire city was an honor,” said Morones. “Furthermore, having Mayor Villaraigosa declare Los Angeles an active participant in the ONE campaign demonstrates that civic leadership in Los Angeles is aware of global issues, such as poverty, and their commitment to end it.”