February 3, 2009

Contact: Katie Andriulli

202-481-8238; kandriulli@americanprogress.org

Students to Participate in “Let’s Raise a Million” Day of Service at Campus Progress’ Southern Regional Conference this Weekend at Morehouse College in Atlanta

Conference Will Host Over 200 of the South’s Best and Brightest Student Activists and Journalists

Atlanta, Georgia – On Sunday, February 8, students attending Campus Progress’ Southern Regional Conference at Morehouse College will take part in a day of service by distributing environmentally friendly light bulbs to low-income communities. The community action is part of the “Let’s Raise a Million” campaign, which was created by Tony C. Anderson, a social entrepreneur and a recent graduate of Morehouse College. Anderson was inspired to start “Let’s Raise a Million” as a response to the lack of attention being paid to low-income communities in the discussion about climate change.

“This campaign is about starting conversations in communities that haven’t historically been included in the debate. It’s about facilitating kitchen table discussion on the ground level,” said Anderson. “Our goal is to raise a million compact-fluorescent light bulbs over four years to be to be distributed to communities of color, underrepresented communities, and communities that could use them. One light bulb may not make a difference, but install thirty, forty, fifty of these light bulbs and you will see a difference in your bill, in your energy costs.”

Anderson, a 2008 Compton Mentor Fellow, graduated from Morehouse College last spring with a degree in political philosophy and is working full time on the “Let’s Raise a Million” campaign. Anderson’s work was praised by former President Clinton at the recent Clinton Global Initiative University conference in New Orleans. The campaign now has three offices and has distributed over 12,000 light bulbs so far.

Campus Progress’ Conference, to be held from February 6 – 8, will host over 200 of the South’s best and brightest young people who will be participating in one of two conference tracks: Activism or Journalism. Throughout the three-day event, students will learn from engaging speakers, participate in networking, training, and skills-building workshops, and attend a plenary session focused on anti-oppression organizing in the South in the wake of the election of Barack Obama.

For more information about the campaign, please visit www.letsraiseamillion.org. To view a video about the project, visit http://tinyurl.com/agax6q.

If you would like to set up an interview with Tony C. Anderson, please contact Katie Andriulli at kandriulli@americanprogress.org or 202-481-8238. For more details about the conference, including a schedule and list of speakers, please visit www.campusprogress.org/atlanta2009.

###

Campus Progress is the youth division of the Center for American Progress, a nonpartisan, nonprofit progressive organization. Through programs in activism, journalism, and events, Campus Progress helps young people make their voices heard now on issues that matter, and works with young leaders and organizations nationwide to build a strong, united progressive movement that can bring long-term positive change. Campus Progress runs a daily web magazine, CampusProgress.org; supports student publications on 50 campuses; supports local and national student issue campaigns; and has held over 350 events and film screenings. For more information, please visit www.campusprogress.org.