2012 Oxfam tour Blog (oxfamontour.org/coldplay)

[Tash]

Oxfam needs you lovely British people to volunteer at Coldplay!

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 25 May 2012

 

 

As I am sure some of you are aware, Oxfam are currently on Coldplay, in our global tour we have been to America, Europe and next we are hitting the UK. Yes boys and girls that means we need you Brits to help. Now I know you will already be in the celebratory mood with the Jubilee and Olympics, so get your British pride out and come and talk about our latest GROW campaign at a Coldplay gig in London, Manchester or Coventry.

 

The food system is broken. We have enough food on this planet to feed our population yet one in seven people go to bed hungry every day. The way we produce, consume and distribute food is wrong and means that people are going hungry needlessly. Oxfam wants to fix this, Coldplay wants to fix this too and have asked us to come on tour with them to create a global movement of Coldplay fans who are speaking out about the food system.

 

We need you to use your voice and speak with British fans about Oxfam and Coldplay to call for a fairer food system for everyone. You will work with a team of Oxfam volunteers at the gig and in return for your energy, you will get a free Coldplay ticket for the night, courtesy of Coldplay.

 

You need to be available from 2.30pm on either 29th May (Coventry), 2nd June (London) or the 10th June (Manchester). You will volunteer from 2.30pm until 9pm. We are looking for energetic, fun loving people who are passionate about Oxfam’s work to find solutions to hunger, poverty and injustice. Places will fill quickly so please email Karen on [email protected] and explain why you want to be involved, any experience you have with an NGO and your contact details. All applicants must speak fluent English.

 

See you in the UK, Rachel.

[Tash]

 

 

Slow Food Day

Posted by Rosie Cowling on 26 May 2012

 

 

Today (Saturday), just two days after Oxfam brought the GROW campaign (COLTIVA in Italian) to Coldplay showgoers in Turin, Slow Food Italia is celebrating local food with Slow Food Day.

 

The Slow Food movement – founded in Italy in 1989 as a response to the growth of fast food culture – is all about uniting the pleasure of food with sustainability and more responsible eating. With over 100,000 supporters in 150 countries, Slow Food aims to reignite people’s interest in where the food they eat comes from and how it affects those who grow it, and encourage the re-emergence of disappearing local food traditions.

 

In the market squares all over Italy, today is dedicated to defending good, clean and fair food from local producers. 300 Italian piazzas come to life with gazebos, market tours, workshops, taster sessions and a campaign to raise awareness of issues like climate change and food prices. In Turin, there will be tours of the market and food workshops in the Piazza Madama Cristina, and campaign talks on food cooperatives and conserving the environment.

 

For Turin, the Slow Food Movement is huge. Terra Madre is a massive multi-cultural food festival held in the town annually to celebrate the work of small-scale producers around the world. Like us, Slow Food believes that the future of food is the future of the planet. And what better way to get people talking about this then to throw a huge festival? Every year, thousands of Slow Food supporters from all over the world descend on Turin for Terra Madre, to celebrate the diversity of food from every continent and unite producers of the south with consumers of the north.

 

In October, the global meeting of Slow Food, Salone del Gusto (or Big Room of Taste, translated roughly) will combine with Terra Madre, in a unified super event, to explore key issues connected with food production and consumption: from the role of young people and small-scale traditional producers for the future of agriculture, to the safeguarding of landscapes; from the fight for GM-free farming to the protection of herders and small-scale fishers, and much more. It’s also a chance to meet the people behind the 1,000 food gardens that Slow Food is establishing with African communities, take part in debates, taste workshops and food courses.

 

If you’re in Italy, find out where you local Slow Food Day event is.

 

Read about Terra Madre.

[Tash]

Zurich, the city of light.

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 26 May 2012

 

 

As I write this I’m sat on the concrete steps next to the stage in Zurich. Today is our last day on the European continent. The sun has been shining in Zurich and I was really excited to meet the volunteers from Switzerland. These volunteers came from one of our partner organisation’s the Clean Clothes campaign Oxfam works with in Switzerland, so it was great for me to hear about what Oxfam was doing in Switzerland. Oxfam doesn’t have a huge presence in Switzerland but you Swiss people know how to welcome us and joined our campaign with open arms. Amazing!!

 

Now the campaigning has ended and I’m sat enjoying the show. My body is tingling as the band yells Para-para-paradise. Zurich yes you are!! The crowd is huge and everyone is wearing their wristbands making the arena glow with neon colours, as Chris shouts, “Show me your lights”, everyone screams back and the coloured lights wave in sync with the music as everyone is screaming the words! This is truly amazing! 40,000 people connecting with the band, Chris shouts “I feel like we are all one, we are all together.” They hit the chorus again and 40,000 people shout the words as Chris hands them the mic! What a beautiful end to a day with the people of Zurich! If you were at the gig I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! And for those who didn’t start following us on twitter, @oxfamontour, as I tweet pictures of the gig!

 

Goodnight, Rachel

[Tash]

“I’m the best ‘Mr Banana’ yet!” – Oxfam Italia volunteers tell us why they love Oxfam and GROW

Posted by Dario and Michele on 29 May 2012

 

Michele, AKA 'the best "Mr Banana" yet', with adoring fans

 

This is a guest blog.

 

We are Dario and Michele, two volunteers at the Coldplay concert in Turin.

 

Dario: I’ve already volunteered for Oxfam on a number of occasions and know the campaign COLTIVA (Italian for GROW) quite well. I’m also a fan of Coldplay and so I was super excited when Wendy from Oxfam Italia asked me if I wanted to take part at this event.

 

Michele: I’m a friend of Dario, I live in Turin and I hadn’t heard about the COLTIVA campaign until just a few days ago. When I first read about the campaign I immediately felt really involved; the issues are very interesting and so relevant today.

 

Dario, who introduced friend Michele to COLTIVA

 

Dario asked me if I’d like to participate in an event talking about the food system to Coldplay fans in Turin. I tried to learn as much as possible, for myself but also so I could tell everyone as much as possible about the campaign on the night!

 

Dario: On the journey from Rome to Turin, I studied the campaign and the documents Oxfam had prepared for us in detail. I also practiced a couple of phrases I could use to approach people that evening. I wanted to make sure I could answer all the questions and engage people. My excitement was building.

 

Michele: I’ve read so much in last few days about COLTIVA, as well as the history of carrots…! I’m a really talkative guy, so while I was apprehensive about getting the information right for people, I wasn’t worried about approaching them.

 

Dario

 

Dario: On the night, Michele and I were coupled together. I had the tablet to collect people’s email addresses and Michele was dressed as “Mr. Banana”.

 

I was very happy to spend time talking about COLTIVA and to spend time with my old friend Michele as well. He was great at getting people’s attention because of his outfit, and in involving them with Oxfam’s campaign. After a short while he was also REALLY confident with the key issues of COLTIVA and, I think, enjoyed the experience very much.

 

After 4 hours I was exhausted while Michele still seemed full of energy! I hope we did a good job and I have to say people were very interested in food justice issues; I believe these are topics that really involve every one of us. I was so tired after the show and has no voice left but I loved the experience. Oh! And Coldplay concert was great too!

 

Michele

 

Michele: I think I was the best “Mr Banana” Oxfam has had during the tour with Coldplay (ever, past and future)! [* Editor's note: Oxfam is completely unbiased towards fruit and veg and thinks that so far they've all been equally brilliant :) *] I had loads of fun and could have continued for hours.

 

Thanks to Dario, who reminded me, every now and again, of the key facts related to COLTIVA, so I soon felt more confident and became unstoppable!

 

The Coldplay fans were really nice and all of them were happy to hear about the campaign and to have a picture taken with Mr. Banana (the best ever). I really hope I can collaborate with Oxfam again and I’m sure I will!

 

Check out all the photos from the Turin gig on Oxfam Italia’s Facebook page.

 

If this blog has made you want to volunteer at a show, you can tweet us @oxfamontour or leave a comment below to get in touch with your local Oxfam rep.

 

Oxfam Italia

[Tash]

Love food hate waste

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 31 May 2012

 

After my journeys around Europe I’m back in my hometown, London, and I’m hungry for change. After seeing so many local food networks throughout Europe, America and Canada I was desperate to find out more about what London people were doing to fix the food system.

 

I dumped my bags at home, made a cup of tea and sure enough after a chat with my housemate I realized London was doing something, as my housemate explained. She had been volunteering for a charity called ‘Food Cycle’, a national food recycling charity that aims to reduce the amount of food waste produced by food retailers, and who blames them. In a channel 4 investigation, Sainsbury’s told the news channel that it generated about 44,000 tonnes of food in 2011. Some food retailers give this waste to charities and animal organisations or they deposit it into anaerobic digestion centers, (a method that composts food without oxygen to produce a gas. This gas is used to generate electricity and heat). But if this amount is wasted by one food retailer, imagine who much we generate every year worldwide! That’s where food cycle enter in a golden cape, as the food recycling hero.

 

Food cycle started in 2008 by Kelvin Cheung, as a solution to food waste. It started as a hub in Imperial College London and has now spread across London and in Bristol. Every week volunteers visit food retailers such as Waitrose and Sainsbury’s and pick up their waste. Coincidently, one Waitrose is in Angel, which is very close to where Coldplay are playing this week. Very exciting!

 

Food cycle then takes this surplus food to one of their kitchens and creates an inspiring menu for community’s to enjoy in their Café’s. Since 2008 7749kg of food has been recycled into tasty food by this organization. One of their café’s, ‘Pie in the Sky’, is situated in Bromley-by-Bow, very close to the Olympic village in London. Which is very exciting as they are truly flying the food flag for Britain with this concept. I hope the world’s athletes get a chance to try their delights.

 

On researching food networks, my website browser was full of amazing and appetizing food ideas that London has to offer. Such a foraging courses, pop-up restaurants and vegan cooperative cafes. I don’t think I could possibly visit them all. But if you have a spare afternoon you should defiantly try them out and see how active London is being at fixing the food system.

 

[Tash]

Meet the Oxfam Great Britain volunteers

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 02 June 2012

 

 

Last night I had the awesome opportunity of meeting volunteers from all different arms of Oxfam Great Britain. Three of these volunteers are members of the Oxfam Youth Board and a serious force to reckon with.

 

I met up with Unkha, Olly and Cat, all of who had been involved in Oxfam for up to 3 years. The youth board is a collection of young people aged 16-23 from around the UK who meet up to ensure that Oxfam’s campaigns are in line with young people’s thoughts and interests and ensure that young people can take action too.

 

Unkha said “young people are often restricted in their ability to engage with NGOs as they can’t donate money or freely attend meetings or work. That’s why the youth board enables us to create ways that young people can participate in Oxfam and know that our contributions are meaningful and will help to shape Oxfam’s campaigning methods.”

 

Olly a youth board member said, “it gives us the chance to look at how Oxfam’s campaigns work for young people. We work on bringing Oxfam to young people but also encouraging young people to work with Oxfam.”

 

I asked the volunteers how they got involved with Oxfam and they said they actively searched for an opportunity that really allowed them to voice their opinions and contribute to change. And boy, do the youth board members know what they are talking about! Watching them in the gig speak so confidently about Oxfam’s work with the Coldplay audience, in a way that I would not have been able to do at 18, was inspiring.

 

This gig was a great opportunity for me to see how Oxfam Great Britain works and how people can volunteer with the organisation in so many different ways. Not only did we have the youth board members there as volunteers but there were also shop volunteers, interns, music concert volunteers and me, a staff member. It was quite impressive bringing all these people together to go out in a campaigning armada to talk about GROW. I can’t wait for tonight to see what everyone else does for Oxfam and how together we are creating change.

 

If you want to join the youth board, click here, or for more opportunities with Oxfam click here to get involved.

 

[Tash]

Manchester, you make me proud

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 10 June 2012

 

Last night’s gig we were in Manchester. It felt so good to be back in my home town after being through Europe. As soon I as arrived on Saturday morning I felt at home. I was in a football stadium my Dad brought me as a teenager, but this time I arrived pitch side with 100 fellow crew members to see Coldplay light up the stadium.

 

As we got the stadium the rain had already been falling all morning but this didn’t stop the fans! They queued in their multi-coloured raincoats to get the best spot at the front of the stage. As the band started the rain had stopped and the Manchester crowd had taken off their ponchos to reveal their style. I felt a tad under dressed for this Coldplay crowd in my hoody and pumps. This crowd had the style to match the extravaganza they were about to witness.

 

The band came on and the crowd went wild! I haven’t heard noise like it. 55,000 people screaming Coldplay lyrics, backstage the crew commented on how ‘wild’ the crowd were. I replied “yes, people this is my hometown, of course we have the best audience” (with a proud smile spread across my face). I stood above the crowd and watched thousands of people moving like a skin coloured ocean, with arms that resembled waves, all moving and united by the music. The band blew the crowd away by singing a tribute to Manchester with an acoustic verse from an Oasis song. What an amazing experience.

 

As I stood watching, all the memories came flooding back from the last few weeks and coming back to where I started from all made it more special for me. I truly felt lucky, to be talking to people about something I feel so passionate about and seeing people pledge their support for Oxfam, then to enjoy such an event every night for the last three months has blow me away. Thank you Manchester for making me proud by supporting Oxfam and being the loudest Coldplay fans. Let’s hope tonight will end the second leg of the tour with a bang.

 

[Tash]

To Pea or Not to Pea

Posted by Janet Bebb on 15 June 2012

 

 

This is a guest post. Janet volunteered at Manchester.

 

“Mum, mum I’ve put my name down to help Oxfam spread the word about the GROW campaign at Coldplay gigs!” exclaimed my daughter.

 

“Wonderful,” I said. “Can I do it too?”

 

She checked, I could! Woohoo – I was on my way!

 

I’d volunteered before but not for Oxfam and not by campaigning. My daughter, Sophie is an active member of Oxfam. She’s on the Youth Board and also helped set up the local Holme Valley Oxfam Support Group.

 

I’d heard of Oxfam’s GROW campaign from her but didn’t know a great deal about it other than it being about injustice in the way food is distributed. Although I didn’t know much at that stage, all I needed to know was that I trusted in Oxfam and it’s ethics to know that they will have done their research into what’s working and what needs to change.

 

So there we were on the list to attend the Manchester Coldplay concert. The email came through with all the info on why we were campaigning etc. and Sophie joked that I could dress up as a chilli pepper. “Yeah, right” i’d thought, but oh no…I checked the Oxfam On Tour website (http://www.oxfamontour.org) and she was right! The volunteers were dressed up as pea pods, a tomato, banana, sweetcorn, carrot and a taco! Oh my word what had I let myself in for – FUN!

 

We got there early and met with other volunteers. Some had volunteered before and some had not, like me, but we were all up for the challenge and to have some fun. We were given GROW t-shirts, instructions on what Oxfam were looking to achieve and then the ‘fight’ was on for who wore which costumes.

 

I opted to take a back seat and take photos rather than dress up. We paired up and off we went out into the sea of concert-goers. Our mission was to raise awareness of the GROW Campaign and ask people if they would be prepared to sign a petition to be taken to the RIO + 20 Summit later this month (20 – 22 June 2012).

 

With bags and bags of enthusiasm Sophie (pea pod), Sarah (tomato) and I encouraged people to Tweet using the hashtag #lovefoodhateinjustice and to follow @oxfamontour. We gave out badges, stickers and small pocket-sized booklets about the campaign. Who could resist talking to a pea pod and a tomato? Ok so we got someone strange looks; someone asked the tomato “What’s tomato you?” and another asked if the Pea Pod was fresh or frozen (it was a cold night)! I have to say people were very friendly, welcoming and engaging.

 

I loved every minute of it and would definitely do it again!

[Tash]

6 countries in 3 weeks, Oxfam on tour gets to grip with Europe!

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 18 June 2012

 

These last few weeks have taken me the length and breadth of different Oxfam’s in Europe. I have met Oxfam volunteer’s from 5 of Oxfam affiliate’s; Oxfam Intermon, Oxfam France, Oxfam Italia, Oxfam Germany and Oxfam Great Britain. I have travelled 6 different countries and sometimes were in two different countries within 24 hours. Am I a super hero? No I’m on tour with Coldplay.

 

In the last few weeks I have seen Coldplay fans in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and England and each one of those countries brought a new eye opener and experience for me, brace yourself for the next few minutes you are going to experience these things with me.

 

On arrival to the first venue in Portugal, the tour book stated the venue would hold 43,000 people that night. I didn’t think much of it, surely there wasn’t much difference between 16,000 – 43,000 people?! I was most defiantly wrong!! Standing outside the arena waiting for the volunteers to arrive I sat and took in the noise and movement that such an amount of people have. From that point I instantly knew that this tour was going to be a whole different ball game.

 

In Spain I was wandered around Altetico Madrid’s dressing rooms and experienced what some would call tropical showers. Such showers I was not prepared for in my English style shorts and flip-flops! But Spanish fans didn’t care, they showed me what being a true fan was about, standing all night in the rain, silencing it’s fall on the stadium with their cheers and versions of “nobody said it was easy”.

 

Nice was the city where I had my first taste of French onion soup! Which sparked my addiction to find soup that tastes as spectacular. Canned soup just doesn’t beat it! It was also the city where the wristband boys and myself found xylo men statues in the centre square. Each one of them changing in sequence and lighting up the night sky. If you haven’t already people, go and see these statues.

 

Turin was the date when the ‘Coldplay cloud’, that had followed us from Porto through to Nice, started to part. The crew started became instantly happy, the truck drivers pulled out their picnic tables and set up a ‘bronzing camp’ (Rachel’s new word. The definition of bronzing camp – where Brits set up a sunbathing lounge complete with sun lotion swapping and cold cans of juice). Turin was also the city of surprises, when on arrival I was shocked into silence as the main Piazza opened up into a huge space, fenced off by beautiful classical buildings and outdoor eateries where people we laughing and eating just like a designer sunglasses advert. It was heaven. On sitting to eat I realised I had actually walked into a holiday concert where their own local star was performing and I was sat right in the middle of thousands of people. It was bliss.

 

Next was Switzerland, where I had the amazing opportunity of meeting a partner that Oxfam works with, the Clean Clothes Campaign. Such a meeting provided me with a deepening of my Oxfam knowledge and how we deliver our programmes. To top this, when I thought I couldn’t, I even got to try some Swiss patisserie in the shape of a vanilla slice! Yum!

 

From Switzerland we were on route home, I must admit it was strange going to bed in Switzerland to wake up in France, cross the channel on the ferry and then go back to sleep again to wake up finally in Coventry. They truly are submarine drives where I spend my time drawing in my travel journal, listening to new albums and watching a lot of cartoons to past the hours. This is the time I spent catching up on writing postcards I bought three countries ago and never posted, (they are still sat undelivered on my desk at home, sorry Mum).

 

This tour was very different to my first one in the US because it spanned such a mixtures of experiences. I really didn’t think I could fit some much culture, memories and people into three weeks. So as a way to finish, here are my best moments from the Europe tour:

 

- Racing up and down the arena on scooters, these venues are big places they need toy scooters to get around, well that’s my excuse

 

- Filming volunteer’s dressed up as peas and carrots, rocking out to Coldplay tunes

 

- Taking photos of my American colleague next to every fountain and quaint lamp post in Madrid

 

- Paddling in French sea on Nice’s seafront before our morning pick up call

 

- Being featured in a French newspaper

 

- Eating ‘real’ Italian pizza in Turin, sat in the stadium’s car park watching the trucks load out of the venue

 

- Watching the wristbands move like a neon ocean in Zurich

 

- Meeting a variety of Oxfam Great Britain volunteers in London

 

- Watching an American crew member have a conversation with a Geordie (person who lives in the Newcastle area) and knowing that they didn’t understand a word they were saying due to their accent, but nodding in politeness

 

- Arriving in my home town’s (Manchester) football stadium where I spent a lot of time with my Dad only to be arriving this time with the Coldplay crew

 

All that in three weeks, phew, now I’m sat at home in London packing my suitcase again to head back to the states for some East side adventures and I can’t wait. See you across the pond, Rachel.

 

 

 

[Tash]

Stop the African Hunger Games: Food crisis in Sahel

Posted by Rosie Cowling on 21 June 2012

 

Have you ever ignored a problem until it’s too late to fix it? We’re all guilty of that sometimes. In the Sahel region of West Africa, there is an invisible food crisis. 18.4 million people are going hungry due to rising food prices and drought.

 

There are many cracks in our broken food system. By tending to this one before it becomes worse, we can prevent irreversible damage. But we’re running out of time.

 

There will always be droughts in the Sahel. That’s a natural fact. But hunger is man-made. No-one should have to suffer if the right action is taken to break the cycle. We have to act now.

 

Oxfam hopes to reach 1.2 million people across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal with humanitarian aid. But we need to raise more money in order to do so.

 

[ame]www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkppxFCcaG8[/ame]

 

We’ve already had some success in our campaign. The government UK pledged £5.4 million extra money for Sahel earlier this week, which takes them up to 100% of their fair share; a brilliant result of UK campaigning. That money will help 10 million people in the region, including nutritional treatment, healthcare, water and sanitation for 31,000 children and food for 170,000 people for six months. We’re hoping to have similar success in other countries.

 

But the hard work isn’t over yet. We still need to be making a big noise about this crisis. Other countries need to step up to provide aid and FAST. For families in the Sahel, ‘hunger season’ (the harsh, dry summer months when crop supplies and pasture are exhausted in between harvests) is just starting. They don’t have time to wait.

 

ACT NOW

 

- Sign the Avaaz petition to Stop the African Hunger Games and appeal to governments in countries like the US, Japan, France and Germany, who have the power to make a difference with their fair share of aid and stop this crisis turning deadly. Oxfam will deliver the petition to US president Barack Obama when a million signatures is reached. A million signatures to match a million children in danger of starvation.

 

- Share our interactive video on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Reddit and your other networking sites to make this invisible crisis a visible one. Right click the video to find the embed code.

 

- Share this infographic showing the reasons for the food crisis on Pinterest:

 

 

Don’t wait until scenes of starvation reach our TV screens. We can help millions of people grow and eat better by acting NOW.

[Tash]

Dallas you are the beginning of my new adventure

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 23 June 2012

 

 

Tonight I’m Dallas, the first night of the second US tour for Mylo Xyloto tour. I’m just sat behind the black draps off the side of the stage as the band are currently doing an acoustic version of ‘Us against the World’, it just reminded me of an email I got this morning that I had to share with you.

 

Today Oxfam America staff informed me that the thousands of petitions that Coldplay fans signed on the last leg of the America tour had all paid off. For some of you that signed the petition you will remember that we were asking Coldplay fans and other people throughout the US to sign a petition to push government to reform the way bought the food aid that was sent from the US to those in need. Before this week, all food aid that was sent from the US had to be purchased in the US and shipped on US ships. Such buying behaviour meant that the food often got to the needed area late and at a high cost due to shipping. Oxfam were pushing the US government to reform this and rethink the way the sent food aid, encouraging them to buy locally and regionally to the area where the food is needed. This week Senate have signed a new Farm Bill in the US, in this it includes the asks that Oxfam and Coldplay fans wanted.

 

This is a huge success for us and I just wanted to say thank you. Without your contribution America, we wouldn’t have been able to apply pressure to government to create the change. Much like the band say, it really is, us against the world!

 

Now in Dallas, it is so exciting to be able to talk to volunteers about our recent success and how campaigning at gigs is an effective way to raise support and change. That and seeing the band perform again in smaller state side venues. So if you guys want to get involved, come and see the Oxfam volunteers at your Coldplay gigs or follow us on twitter on @oxfamontour and see how you can make a difference.

[Tash]

Oxfam volunteers meet our special supporter, Mia Wasikowski.

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 25 June 2012

 

 

Whilst in London members of our youth board and other Oxfam volunteer’s had the opportunity of meeting Mia and explaining our latest campaign and their top tips on talking to the public about food. Kindly, Mia had requested to meet the Oxfam volunteers and understand more about our GROW campaign. Mia is originally from Australia and has travelled to Cambodia the understand how Oxfam unwrapped gift scheme works for people in Cambodia and helps them in so many different ways to provide a escape from poverty and chance to provide food for their family. Mia really illustrates the length and depth of Oxfam’s work globally as not only does she works with Oxfam Australia and America but has now met Oxfam Great Britain volunteer’s in her recent break from filming in the UK.

 

Meeting Mia was an amazing opportunity for the volunteers to provide Mia with an understanding of what volunteering with Oxfam is really like. They gave her advice on how to public campaign and how the youth board works. Mia was really impressed how much Oxfam volunteers contribute to Oxfam’s work. The youth board explain to Mia, “our aim to ensure all Oxfam’s campaigns engage young people as well as adults, to ensure that young people can also contribute to the organisation and get involved with Oxfam”.

 

“We also make sure that not only is Oxfam accessible for young people but that young people want to be involved with Oxfam by creating new publicity and opportunities in schools and colleges” said Olly, a second youth board member. Mia was able to describe the situation in Cambodia and the work Oxfam is doing out there. This was a brilliant chance for the volunteers to understand how Oxfam works on development programmes alongside our campaigning and relief work.

 

For me, it was a really exciting illustration of how Oxfam’s work is accessible to everyone, no matter what industry you work in, age you are or where you live. Such an experience resonates the power people have when they join together and the power of the GROW campaign. This campaign isn’t one that you can easily ignore and walk away from as it seeps into every aspect of your life. Food is something that is close to everyone’s heart. Meeting Mia and having conversations with her and volunteers about food, Oxfam and how we were talking to people throughout the world about GROW really helped me see the global ripples it is causing about the way we eat. It seems when you say out loud “yeah I was in Europe early this month and USA last month talking about GROW”, when you are stood in London, talking to Mia from Australia, with a Oxfam America member of staff by your side, suddenly awakens your senses to the global passion and possibilities there are for change.

 

For Mia, it provided her with an understanding on how to public campaign and any top tips the volunteer’s had on talking to others. Hopefully this advice inspired Mia to take on campaigning at her local festivals or even put on a t-shirt and hit the next film premier with a clipboard and petition….. Although I don’t know where she would put her pen in a red carpet ball gown…. Another time maybe?

[Tash]

The home of BBQ…. Oh yeahh!

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 26 June 2012

 

 

Tonight was the first gig in Houston, the town famous for bbq food. Tonight volunteers were spreading the message in the South of America about food injustices and how we can feed our new population by supporting small scale farmers.

 

This isn’t a ‘rocket science kinda message’, this is ‘real easy to grasp’ (like what I’m doing with my American style speech); Oxfam wants to make sure smaller farmers get the support and training they need so they too can be part of business supply chains. It seems people in Houston are well versed when talking about food as I discovered when I researched places to eat in the area.

 

Yesterday I spent some time on the net looking for good places to eat in downtown Houston, when I came across a website called Transition Houston. Here you can share information about local food, seasonal recipes and there is even space for people to swap resources on their forum. One guy was offering fresh soil for people’s veg patches!

 

And it isn’t just websites that offered this information, The Houston Food Policy Work group have taken the next step in actively supporting local farmers and started a offline group that meets once a month to discuss and promote locally grown produce. Anyone can attend, they even go rural on you guys with a quarterly meeting held in rural areas to allow partners to attend.

 

So if you feel like doing more about buying food locally to support smaller farmers, The Houston Food Policy Workgroup meets in the Upper Kirby District 2nd floor board room at 11:30 on the second Wednesday of each month. You should go along.

 

Houston also has a huge amount of farmer’s markets in the city. Including Canino’s Produce what is open every day. I just wish I had time to sample it all. It seems like Houston know more about our GROW campaign than they realised by already supporting local farmers.

 

So tonight it was no surprise that many people signed up to the campaign and really understood our work with Coldplay. Some approached us to find out what we were doing next and wanting to join our campaign. One volunteer even broke the record of signing up 121 people! Good job everyone tonight and Houston, thank you for your warm welcome. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me here in Houston and how many farmers I will speak to.

[Tash]

Home on the Range

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 27 June 2012

 

A guest blog from our volunteer lead and old tour coordinator, Najat Elsayed.

 

Last night I came back home to my Oxfam family by volunteering at the Houston concert. My life has changed a lot since I used to tour with Coldplay in 2005 and 2006 as the Oxfam representative on tour. I got married, had a beautiful baby girl and now I am working as a college prep counsellor at a Houston private school. Although life will always continue to move forward when I volunteered yesterday it was as if I was back at home with my Oxfam and Coldplay family. I could feel the love and support and shared stories and laughter among friends old and new.

 

When I was on tour six years ago fans would stop by our booth to say “Howdy” and sign up to learn more about the campaign. Last night it was the same story but with new fans and a new campaign. They all wanted to know how they could be a part of this global movement and help. This brought back to me one thing with full force, a rekindling of the passion that I have always had in my heart to help end hunger and poverty through supporting and raising awareness about Oxfam and the GROW campaign. I actually began to get a little teary eyed when I was watching the concert after working as a volunteer at the booth.

 

Why was I getting a bit emotional I thought, perhaps the memories of all the amazing things we did to help people in need while on tour, maybe it was the family atmosphere that Jackie, EJ, Pauline, Sheri, Mark, the band of course, fans, and the entire Coldplay team had given me when I was on tour. It was very possible that it was the amazing Coldplay music that got me moving and touched my heart yet again. Perhaps it was the fact that I was getting involved again with Oxfam and doing my part however little it was to make a difference in making sure that everyone should have enough to eat no matter where they are. Most likely it was a combination of all of the above.

 

Do you want to get passionate about something? Why don’t you get involved and see how we can all grow together in making a difference in being the change we wish to see in the world. I guarantee you will have wonderful memories that will last you a lifetime and even better you will do your part to help make this world a better place in joining the Oxfam Family.

 

Hopefully see you soon, Najat.

 

[Tash]

WIN signed Coldplay tour merchandise!

Posted by Rosie Cowling on 29 June 2012

 

Readers of this blog span the world. Some of you are following the tour action from Europe, Asia, North and South America, Australia, and that’s are just for starters.

 

There are a couple of reasons for this: there are a LOT of Coldplay fans worldwide, but also, the GROW campaign is global and it’s all about food. And we all love food, whether we live in a city in France, a village in India, or a favela in Brazil.

 

We think that’s a good enough excuse for a celebration.

 

Win signed Mylo Xyloto tour merchandise

 

 

To celebrate the global reach of Coldplay’s fans and the GROW campaign, we’re setting you a challenge:

 

Show your country some love by sharing your favourite local cuisine with us and telling the world why you love it.

 

There are currently over 9000 faces on the GROW Wall and growing all the time, so what a great opportunity to show other Coldplay fans around the world your local dishes.

 

So, what tickles your taste buds in Turkey? What’s Hungary hungry for? What’s delicious in Mauritius?

 

How can I enter?

 

It’s easy:

 

1) Get a friend to take a photo of you with some of your country’s best-loved food, or your favourite local dish. Make sure we can see your face as well, though!

 

2) Tweet the photo to @oxfamontour. Tell us what the food in the photo is, where you’re/the food is from and include a photo link. For example:

 

“Hi @oxfamontour, i’m from London and I love fish and chips because it’s a historic meal! twitpic.com/9y70ib“

 

3) Go to the GROW Wall to see your picture.

 

The best tweet and photo will win this Mylo Xyloto 2012 tour program and photo signed by Chris, Will, Jonny and Guy.

 

The contest will run for one week, from today (June 29th) until next Friday (July 6th) We will announce the winner on 9th July.

 

Good luck!

[Tash]

Miami, by guest blogger Julian Gomez

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 30 June 2012

 

Last night will be a night I remember for the rest of my life. I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to volunteer with Oxfam, an organization I have been learning a lot about in the last few months and that has given me the chance to bring my ache for acting to end injustices in the world to good use.

 

I first learned what exactly Oxfam and the GROW campaign is all about a few months ago when a non-profit I work for, The Harry Potter Alliance, partnered with Oxfam for our “Hunger is Not a Game” campaign. The Harry Potter Alliance tackles real world problems using analogies from the Harry Potter series, to fight the Dark Arts in our world. ‘Hunger is Not a Game’ was our first non-Harry Potter based campaign as part of our Imagine Better Project. We got Hunger Games fans and Harry Potter fans working together to raise awareness about GROW, get people to sign the pledge, and donate foods in dozens of food drives held in theatres by our local chapters all over the United States.

 

Yesterday I was able to directly affect the GROW movement and become part of the wonderful Oxfamily. All of the volunteers were very excited and incredibly friendly! It was great to see how quickly total strangers united by one excellent cause could become friends, exchanging numbers and promising to find each other on Facebook at the end of the night.

 

My sister and I volunteered together, she was very excited to dress up like a corn and take pictures with Coldplay fans supporting Oxfam, she’s now famous on the Oxfam facebook page. It’s fantastic to see fans that simply came to enjoy the show come across us and be fascinated by our cause to make sure everyone has enough to eat. I know we’ve made a lasting impact on many of these fans and hopefully next time a volunteering opportunity arises here, I’ll see some of them again, this time donning a purple Oxfam shirt!

 

Miami is such an incredibly diverse city, so we spoke with Coldplay fans from all over the world; Brazil, Costa Rica, Venezuela, even Egypt! My sister and I were lucky enough to see Coldplay backstage when we were putting away all of the Oxfam equipment with Rachel. They were casually playing a game of ping-pong only minutes before playing a show in front of 23,000 fans and Chris even looked over at us, smiled, and thanked us! It was a perfect ending to my volunteering experience last night. The show itself was literally the best concert I have ever been to, it was more of a giant party than a concert. Coldplay has such an amazing ability to make their audience, no matter how large, part of the show.

 

I can’t recommend this experience more, if you have the chance to volunteer for Oxfam in your area, go for it! I guarantee it will be a day to remember.

 

If you want to find out more about volunteering with Oxfam and our work with The Harry Potter Alliance check out

. That’s enough from me, Julian Gomez, thinking so you don’t have to.

 

For volunteering opportunities with Oxfam America click here

 

[Tash]

Everyone should be a roadie

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 01 July 2012

 

So as most of you might have guessed quite a lot of my time is spent driving through America in an armada of trucks and sleepers vans. In the last few days I’ve driven from Dallas all the way down to Miami, Florida. All this driving gives me time to do some internet research on what people in Florida are doing about hunger. Feeding South Florida states that 1 in 6 people go hungry in Florida. Which is so bizarre to me because America produces and consumes so much food. You only have to walk around arenas to discover all the different culinary delights; pretzels, gyros, BBQ and popcorn is just naming a few. This hunger is due to many reasons, unemployment and the increase of food prices and living costs which means many people are going to bed hungry in one of the richest countries in the world. It seems world hungry isn’t something that only happens in developing countries.

 

This is where Feeding South Florida steps in, they have a concept called ‘food drives’ which I thought was so fitting with all the driving I have been doing. Food drives are a fun way for people to take road trips whilst also collecting any unwanted food items from people’s pantries. Any tuna, peanut butter and tinned goods are accepted. I defiantly know I have these in my cupboard at home. Seeing the world and raising awareness about world hungry and sharing resources. This sounds very familiar. It seems taking a road trip and raising awareness isn’t just being done by Coldplay and Oxfam. What’s the amazing thing is that it is not so far away from your reach either as anyone can sign up to take a food drive. I think it’s a perfect way to spend a summer holiday.

 

During my internet searching I also discovered that Miami is now one of the best places to dine. It seems these guys have really taken up the food scene and ran with it with lots of new restaurants and new food truck round ups that are taking Miami by storm. It seems everyone has food and driving on the brain!

 

Miami has formed its own food truck round ups where people served all different types of cuisine in one space. The trucks move around on different days and join together at different times so the food is always different and new. I know America is a place where convenience and ease wins always, but this is a new level of convenience! Thai, Mexican and burgers all in one place for me to try sounds like paradise. Today is the day I realised I’m on a road trip through America and everyone else in Florida is becoming a roadie too. So onwards and upwards (north through America) to Atlanta where the next show will be on Monday. Let’s see how much they like roadie’s there?

 

[Tash]

Lights, Camera, Action Corps!

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 08 July 2012

 

For those of you who have been following the blog you will know that in London I met Oxfam GB volunteers who worked in several different parts of the organisations. On visiting Philadelphia I had a very similar experience, but this time with Oxfam America volunteers. I found out what Oxfam activists were doing in the USA. Here Cheryl tells us more about it:

 

Oxfam has been a huge part of my life since 2006 when I heard Chris Martin say for the 100th time “Please look at Make Trade Fair dot com, and please more chocolate, and please listen to more Coldplay” in the beginning of “Amsterdam” from their live album. So I went to MakeTradeFair.com and I got lost in all the information Oxfam had about Fair Trade vs. Free Trade.

 

On Oxfam’s website I saw the opportunity to volunteer at a Coldplay show, so I signed up for the North Jersey show. After writing a long speech about how much I love Coldplay, Oxfam, and how passionate I was about the campaign in my application, I found out I was chosen to volunteer at the show. Working that first Coldplay show and talking to people about Oxfam was incredible. I couldn’t believe I could help one of my favourite bands make such a huge difference in the world, and get to talk to so many other awesome fans and get them passionate about it too.

 

There I met a member of the Oxfam America team who contacted me about volunteering at the Warped Tour in NJ. I jumped at the opportunity. That day we were collecting petition signatures asking the government to change how the Farm Bill was written to help small farmers have an opportunity to compete. Around that time I was feeling a little overwhelmed with global problems, I was feeling really small and started doubting whether I, as one person, could really help. That day, not only did we get over 100 petition signatures from music fans, I had two girls come up to me and thank me for what I was doing. They lived on a small farm and said that if the bill passed as it was currently written, they would lose their farm. That moment moved me. I realize that I could really help change the world as one person, because as one person I can collect over 100 other voices, and those voices can tell other people, who can tell more. We need more people to make these voices heard and show our leaders that we are paying attention and we do care.

 

Two summers later I applied and got accepted to be one of 50 university students around the US to go to Boston for Oxfam America’s CHANGE program. For a week we went through training on campaigning, advocacy, and lobbying as well as Oxfam’s work and how we can help. We learned the tools we needed to go back to our campuses and run a group focused on social justice. I started “Students for Social Justice” at Philadelphia University. During the training I met people from all over who are so different but completely connected on one thing, the want to change the world for the better. I highly recommend it for all Freshman and Sophomores in university!

 

Oxfam America also have the Action Corps programme, these are groups of volunteers who represent Oxfam in their local areas.I joined the Philadelphia Action Corps. and since have volunteered at countless concerts, local events and marathons, and met incredible people. We meet at different members houses or local universities and watch short films on global issues and have letter-writing parties to our local representatives. After five years of being in the Philadelphia Action Corps. I am a co-leader with my friend Lindsy for the next year.

 

Lindsy and I volunteered at the Philly Coldplay shows and had the opportunity once again to talk to their awesome fans about the GROW campaign. Seeing Coldplay live again just made me so grateful that they were the ones who introduced me to Oxfam and all the great work they do. Seeing their thousands of fans in that arena watching Chris jumping and dancing around the stage with the Oxfam logo on his tee shirt made me so proud that one of my favorite bands are still using their voices to raise awareness about important issues, encourage their fans to do something about it. So please go to OxfamAmerica.org, please eat more chocolate, and please listen to more Coldplay..s.it may change your life, and the world, for the better! Thanks, Cheryl

 

[Tash]

Twitter picture contest: the winner

Posted by Rosie Cowling on 09 July 2012

 

All last week we ran a photo contest on Twitter to find the best picture of someone with their favourite local food.

 

WOW. What impressive entries we had, with submissions from all over the world; Holland, England, Indonesia, South Africa, India, Canada, Paraguay, Malaysia, USA and France. All the photos can be found on the Oxfam on Tour Facebook page.

 

From pub grub to sweet treats

It was SO hard to pick a winner! With so many delicious dishes – some that i’ve heard of, some that I haven’t (and now want to try!) – we wanted to give prizes to everyone.

 

The food came from lots of different traditions, and in lots of forms. From comfort food: pub grub in Yorkshire, England, to the special occasion: delicate sweets traditional to France, and the stand-up snack: hot and quick street food in Mumbai, India, eaten on the bonnet of a car with family and friends.

 

What also stood out was people growing their own food in their garden. Home grown fruit and veg featured a few times, in the true GROW spirit.

 

And the winner is…

Congratulations to Nuraini Zainal from Malaysia who won with her photo of the durian fruit from southeast Asia!

 

Nicole and Brad from the Coldplay production team chose a winner with Rachel and decided it was Nuraini’s photo and gym socks comment that did it…

 

 

 

 

The durian, or “king of fruits” is a large fruit, covered in a thorny husk, eaten by people in southeast Asia. It is loved by many, but hated by others, due to its distinctive and penetrating odour. Some say it smells like custard and sweet almonds, others say rotten onions and old socks!

 

Nuraini wins a Mylo Xyloto 2012 tour program and photo signed by Coldplay:

 

 

Thank you to everyone who entered! To see all the photo entries, go to our Facebook page.

[Tash]

Go Team Atlanta!

Posted by Kaleigh Leach on 11 July 2012

 

 

This is a guest blog. Kaleigh volunteered at the Atlanta show.

 

Last Monday (2nd July) was such a great night, and I owe it to Oxfam and Coldplay. It marked the 4th time I have volunteered with Oxfam at a Coldplay show (and my 9th time seeing them), and it never gets old…In fact I’m more and more excited each time!

 

This was my 2nd time as a Team Leader, which meant I was the main point of contact for all of the volunteers. It was my job to make sure the volunteers knew where they were going and what they would be doing. I also arrived early to help Rachel get everything set up and organized before the volunteers arrived.

 

Once Team Atlanta was assembled we all were able to meet each other, learn more about Oxfam and learn about how we’re supporting the GROWcampaign for the night. The cool thing about this tour is that instead of just carrying around clipboards and canvassing fans, we’re dressing up as food and taking pictures of fans that are automatically added to a wall of fans on this blog and the Oxfam America Facebook page. Not only that but by Tweeting the hashtag #lovefoodhateinjustice, fans anywhere and everywhere can connect with what is happening. I love it!

 

 

Team Atlanta was great! A smaller group of 2 set a new record for the most sign ups at 136! All the volunteers wearing the food costumes were so enthusiastic and awesome sports at being in so many pictures all night! Sometimes volunteering is hard because you don’t know who to approach or who is going to want their picture taken with a tomato, but everyone figured out what worked best for them.

 

After we finished up for the night, everyone was so helpful with getting everything packed up. No one was standing around wondering what to do, they were all helping. What a great group! After we were done, we all got to enjoy the best band put on the best concert. What could be better?

 

I hope that everyone will keep volunteering and showing their support for Oxfam, and will hopefully see them all again at the next Coldplay show in Atlanta…

[Tash]

The GROW Method: Help fix the food system with every bite

Posted by Rosie Cowling on 18 July 2012

 

 

Signing up to the GROW campaign at Coldplay gigs, to find out how you can support small-scale farmers on 1.5 billion farms around the world is just one way you can help mend the food system.

 

There are also simple things you can do every day, to do your bit for the environment and tackle hunger that affects 1 in 7 people around the world. We’ve come up with some easy ways to help you be a thriving, supportive and sustainable part of that big thing we’re always going on about – ‘the food system’.

 

What exactly IS the food system?

 

Every decision you make in the supermarket and in the kitchen, from which bananas to buy, to where to store apples at home, has a big impact. Your choices when it comes to food may seem small and inconsequential, but they make you a part of the ‘global food system’.

 

The food system is the big names; the food companies, governments and organisations, but most of all it’s people. People that grow the food, but also all people that buy it and eat it. So that’s, well, everyone. When we talk about the food system, we’re talking about you.

 

The food system isn’t working. The result? Some rather scary statistics on obesity levels in developed countries (50% in some countries) coupled with the fact that 1 in 7 people elsewhere in the world go to bed hungry every night. Problems with the food system can affect every one of us, with rising food prices meaning millions of families are having to make changes to what goes into the shopping basket.

 

Small steps, big changes

 

 

How can we fix the food system? If the system is all of us, and the huge corporations are running the show, that’s a pretty daunting task, right? Well it doesn’t have to be.

 

We, as consumers, have a massive influence on the food system. The choices we continue to make ensure that things happen a certain way. Collectively, we have the power to change the system as it stands by making positive steps in our daily routines to demand better and ensure a positive future where everyone has enough to eat.

 

If we all start to make small changes to the way we buy and eat, to protect the natural resources we rely on and ensure support for the farmers doing the hard work, the current system that is failing us will be pushed out to be replaced by one that supports everyone.

 

Trust us, you’re pretty powerful. It was you who made campaigns like Make Trade Fair a global household name. And you can use that power again.

 

What if?

 

 

If you have ever made a choice when it comes to buying, storing or eating food, you are powerful. Don’t believe us? Just look at how big an impact your individual action can have:

 

What if: we swapped beef for beans once a week?

 

If urban households in the US, UK, Spain and Brazil were to swap beef for beans in their chilli once a week for a year, the greenhouse gas emissions saved would be equivalent to taking 3.7 million cars off the road.

 

What if: we kept apples in the fridge instead of the fruit basket?

 

Keeping apples in the fridge keeps them fresher for longer and can save 1 in 6 apples being sent to landfill in some countries, creating harmful greenhouse gases. The emissions created by the 5.3 billion apples a year wasted in Brazil, India, Spain, the Philippines, UK and US is equivalent to burning 10 million barrels of oil.

 

Find out more

 

Over the next few months we’re going to share with you some easy ways to feed your family and help to mend the broken food system; together we call them the GROW Method.

 

There may be broken links in the food chain but your buying power makes you a mighty and strong one. And we think everyone demands better. Check out our slideshow to find out more!

 

[Tash]

Europe we’re heading your way and I need your help in Stockholm and Copenhagen!

Posted by Rachel Edwards on 19 July 2012

 

 

So we might be on a tour break and heading back to Canada and America soon but Europe people I need your help!

 

As some of you might be aware the Coldplay tour is soon to hit Europe in August and Oxfam will be going with them. As part of the tour Coldplay have invited 20 volunteers to attend their gigs in Copenhagen and Stockholm to talk to Swedish and Dutch audiences about our GROW campaign. The GROW campaign is all about fixing the food system by rethinking the way we produce, consume and distribute food to ensure that no one goes hungry!

 

It’s a no brainer really.

 

Do you want to help us fix the food system and stop those 1 in 7 people going to bed hungry every night?

 

Are you passionate about spreading the word and asking people to join us in using their voice to stop social injustices?

 

Do you want to become more involved with Oxfam and support us in creating change by raising awareness with Coldplay fans?

 

Then you need to apply to volunteer at a Coldplay gig in Copenhagen or Stockholm!

 

All we ask is that you are fluent in English, passionate about making a difference and committed to achieving Oxfam’s aims of overcoming poverty and suffering. You need to be available from 3pm on the 28th August (Copenhagen) or 30th August (Stockholm). You will volunteer from 3pm – 9pm and in return for all your hard work Coldplay are rewarding you with a free ticket to their Mylo Xyloto tour! A fair swap I would say. So if you’re ready to make a difference and have loads of fun doing it, then apply by sending an email to Rachel ([email protected]) explaining your suitability for the place, any experience of campaigning or working with an NGO and your passion to work with Oxfam. Please send your application in English. Please also note which gig you would like to apply for:

 

28th August Copenhagen

 

30th August Stockholm.

 

I can’t wait to hear from you all. Rachel.

[Tash]

As part of the tour Coldplay have invited 20 volunteers to attend their gigs in Copenhagen and Stockholm to talk to Swedish and Dutch audiences about our GROW campaign.

 

:no:

[busybeeburns]

 

Ms Peach in Toronto

 

Hello, so I’m Oxfam Esme. The ‘fake Oxfam Rachel’ for a week, according to some of the Coldplay crew who are bit baffled by the temporary switch and the strange name.

 

I’m a Brit abroad like Rach, although a lot of Toronto Coldplay fans I’ve met so far say I sound Australian. So, er, G’day, Canada. Must be the over-consumption of Australian soaps aged 11, or something.

 

As a Peach, I take the GROW campaign very seriously. So seriously that the first thing I did when I hit the hot streets of Toronto this weekend was connect with my Peachy Ontario relatives at the city’s best markets and food emporiums.

 

I figured the best place to start would be St Lawrence Market in town. This incredible foodie mecca kicks off at 5am (yup, ouch) and offers up a smorgasbord of locally-grown, fair trade and seasonal produce, from Colombian coffee to Toronto tomatoes.

 

It’s a heavenly place for anyone in the city testing out Oxfam’s GROW Method – easy everyday ways you can make the food system fairer.

 

Spending the morning there, I shot the breeze with some organic Ontario peaches, had a cheeky gossip with a posse of Ontario plums, and from what I hear, this city seems to be pretty great at celebrating its local farmers and local produce.

 

Apparently there’s a whole wave of restaurants that pride themselves on focussing on what’s seasonal and buying from local small-scale farmers, and there’s even an initiative called Farmers Feed Cities that raises awareness of the value local farmers bring to a city. Restaurants, cafes, and shops that stock local produce often carry their stickers in the window. Have you seen them?

 

 

My peachy-keen buddies also gave me the down-low on Food Forward, a local non-profit that raises people’s voices in support of a better food system. They’re working with the public, politicians and those involved in the food sector to educate and advocate for food that is healthy, local, sustainable, ethically produced and accessible for all. So they’re definitely GROW-minded folk.

 

As a street-Peach, I especially love their Toronto Street Food Project, which is championing street food and trying to get Toronto to be as street-food friendly a city possible.

 

The Ontario peach and plum clan also clued me up about Canada’s legendary maple syrup. Something apparently we peaches love taking a dip in… So if you’ve got a family recipe for peaches and syrup, I’d love to hear it.

 

Think it’s about time this Peach really immersed herself in some Canadiana… Yum!

 

Read more about the GROW Method

 

http://oxfamontour.org/coldplay/ms-peach-in-toronto/

[wabbit]

Lighting up the Night

 

Guest blog by Kristi York Wooten, an activist who volunteered with Oxfam at the Atlanta show on July 2nd.

 

 

If you’ve been to a Coldplay gig recently, you experienced a feast of light and sound. You probably also received an LED wristband, which twinkled on your arm in time to “

” and other songs during the band’s set.

 

A lighting engineer controlled the multicolored flickers in the arena, and you got to take the bracelet home as a souvenir (or you recycled it at the venue). Pretty cool to look at, right? Yet, away from its radio controls, the light no longer works.

 

Those lucky enough to be chatted up by a human vegetable or have their photo snapped for the GROW wall also left the Coldplay show with a keepsake … a new kernel of knowledge about global hunger and the importance of supporting sustainable farming. A few days have passed – that little Oxfam pamphlet’s been thrown away, and a pin that says “GROW” is sitting on your bureau next to that defunct armband.

Now what?

 

Let’s go back to the arena for a moment.

 

What if everyone at the concert received the wristband … but only yours lit up? Would you feel self-conscious or empowered? What if you could light up the bracelet of the person next to you – or light your whole row, your whole section? What if you could light up every wrist in the whole arena?

 

That’s what it means to be an activist – and for me, that’s what it felt like to talk to Coldplay fans about Oxfam’s work in Atlanta on July 2nd. Oxfam volunteers signed up nearly 600 people at Philips Arena. That’s enough to make a sparkle in a room of 17,000 people.

 

One thing that makes Coldplay such a great mouthpiece is that the guys are genuinely committed to taking care of our world and its inhabitants – and spreading the word about poverty-fighting organizations like Oxfam. They’re rock stars, which means they have political gumption and strong voices that ring out across the world. But they can’t light up the night on their own. That’s why they gave you the wristband. And that’s why they brought Oxfam on tour.

 

So before you toss that bracelet in the recycle bin, imagine that you can turn it on without the radio waves and the techie at the arena. And that little bit you learned about Oxfam – don’t be shy to share it on your blog, your Facebook, Twitter, etc. Wear your little green pin with pride.

 

It’s our turn to keep the spark going. As Chris Martin sings in “Charlie Brown,” “so we’ll soar, luminous and wired. We’ll all be glowing in the dark.”

 

Have you blogged about GROW or Oxfam on Tour? Share it with us in the comments and we’ll tweet it to the world.

 

Check us out on Pinterest: pinterest.com/oxfamontour and Instagram: @oxfamontour