For the third year in a row, a team of global health and advocacy experts joined together with CARE Action Network and ONE volunteers in Atlanta to get the word out about strides that are being made in the fight against extreme poverty. This year's program featured new Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Thomas Frieden, CARE's President and CEO, Dr. Helene Gayle, ONE president David Lane, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and CNN's Fredricka Whitfield.

Important words: Dr. Gayle debuted CARE's new public service announcement entitled, "Reach Out," narrated by actress and CARE ambassador Sarah Michelle Gellar; Dr. Frieden quoted Henry David Thoreau and Nelson Mandela, but his most poignant remark was a simply analogy about how both infectious diseases and great ideas spread around the world quickly; and David Lane referenced Bono's impending The New York Times commentary about Obama's "36 words," (President Obama said in a recent speech, "We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year's summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.") At the end of the evening, CARE's Derreck Kayongo gave a rousing call to action and asked the audience to stand up and be counted toward a Guinness World Record goal of more than 116 million people remembering the Millennium Development Goals around the world on October 17.

Atlanta's Burundi Drummers wowed the audience with an interactive performance of their country's traditional drumming dances, and CARE's 2009 Champion in Philanthropy Awards were presented to two young women, Megan Maziar and Katherine McKerrow, recent graduates of Atlanta's Galloway School, who were honored for their work to raise $50,000 for the Save Darfur Coalition at a benefit concert featuring Collective Soul.

Take a Stand against Poverty also featured a CARE microfinance marketplace with goods made by women from around the world, and a seafood buffet donated by Six Feet Under restaurant. Participants also had an opportunity to sign up for Join My Village, a new joint venture between CARE and General Mills which helps support 75 villages in Malawi.

But the big surprise – and a true highlight – of the evening was an award presentation to and performance by the Grammy-nominated band Hanson. The band was honored as a 2009 Champion in Philanthropy award winner for its work to bring clean water, education and medical care to children in Africa. Hanson shared stories and songs (and brought tears with the somber ballad, "Lay Me Down," about a parent burying a child who died of AIDS). The three brothers from Oklahoma also talked about the one-mile walks they started in 2007 in conjunction with TOMS shoes. After 28,201 miles walked by Hanson and its fans, the band continues to "Take the Walk" in nearly every city on its current concert tour: the band walks one mile without shoes and encourages its fans to do the same. Each mile walked raises money for their work in Africa.

CARE and ONE will walk with Hanson in Atlanta on October 28, for more details, click here.

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