The Power of One

Happy Anniversary Shot@Life!!!  I can hardly believe that it was 3 years ago in January that I attended the first Shot@Life Summit in Washington DC where the campaign was inaugurated.  Later on April 26, 2012 the campaign did their National Launch from Atlanta, Georgia.

January 2012 Shot@Life Champions

 We grew from 45  champions in 2012 to  600+ champions now in  50 states. We had raised  over $3.5 million,enough  for 15.8 million vaccines  and we keep growing  each day.


April is a very important month for children!  We celebrate Children’s Day on April 30, and we celebrate World Immunization Week this April 24 – 30.  During this week organizations around the world will raise their voices to educate, promote and increase the rate of immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases.  As a nurse from a developing country, I still remember walking into small rural towns & 

seeing children with distended abdomens who were suffering from measles, diarrhea and other preventable childhood diseases.  I witnessed, firsthand, the pain and sorrow of many mothers when their children were suffering.  I remember their stoic faces of other mothers holding back tears while cradling a dead child in their arms.  The sad part is that all those childhood diseases could have been prevented with one simple vaccine.

I have always believed in the power of ONE.  One (1) is a powerful number and without ONE you will not reach 10, 100, 1000, 10,000, etc.   Every worthy project, program or cause started because ONE person believed in change, or because ONE person had the courage to follow his or her dream and passion.  For example, on April 12^th, 60 years ago in 1955, Jonas Salk’s inactivated polio vaccine was proven safe and effective in protecting children from the poliovirus.  Every ONE of you can be ONE of these real change agents!  You are that ONE person who can make a change and save many children’s lives!  You have the power!  You are the ONE to love; you are the ONE to be excited; and you are the ONE to believe in and share this cause with many others.

ONE single vaccine makes a difference between life and death in many cases.  ONE single person donating $20.00 will vaccinate a child for life against polio, measles, pneumonia and diarrhea.  In contrast, treatment costs for ONE child who falls ill from ONE of those diseases can easily $100 to $1000, or more.

I love the Shot@Life Campaign!  This campaign encompasses everything ONE person needs to make a difference in the life of ONE child.  Globally, polio has been reduced 99% and Africa has not seen a new case of polio since July 2014.  However, as long as a single child remains infected, all children are at risk.  While polio is a distant memory for many of us here in the U.S., it remains a threat to the childhood of so many children living in developing countries.

Vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, measles, diarrhea and pneumonia are real and kill many children every year.  For example, for less than ONE (1) US dollar [$1.00], ONE (1) child can be safely and effectively vaccinated against measles.  Shot@Life means providing children around the world with the opportunity to receive the needed vaccines that will give them, truly, a “shot at life”.

You are the ONE that can make a difference this week by pledging your support for global health and educating yourself about our campaign, or donating at www.shotatlife.org.  Shot@Life is a national movement to educate, connect and empower Americans to become champion for vaccines.  It is continuing to strengthen the call to action for this global cause.  Together, we can help save a child’s life every 20 seconds by expanding access to these needed vaccines.  For children in developing countries, a vaccine gives them a chance at many of life’s “firsts”— first smiles, first birthdays, first steps and more.  [BB1]http://www.cdc.gov/features/measles/#adv2vax #va

We are holding a Champion Training this Wednesday night, April 29, from 8-9:30 p.m.. Please join us! Click this link to sign up. #vaccines work @Shot@Life #nurseswhovaccinate.