You are in our thoughts, Boston

A touching perspective on yesterday’s sad events, written by a young woman:

“I’m SO grateful today that all my friends and family in Boston are okay. And I’m also so, so grateful that we live in a country where a bomb exploding is national news, rather than an everyday event that no one blinks an eye at. I’m grateful that we live in a country where people run to help one another, and aren’t too overwhelmed by their own hardships to feel empathy. On days like today I think about Columbine, Virginia Tech, Connecticut, 9/11, and I think about Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Sudan. So much of the world needs a whole lot of love and compassion, and I feel incredibly lucky to be in country that has so much of it to give ♥”

~Seema S

Free DVD with Purchase

Won’t you be an Angel?

UNTIL partners with communities affected by HIV/AIDS throughout Africa to empower and support their businesses.

For a limited time, you can hear the story of our partners at the DO Ubuntu orphanage.  When you purchase any of our African-made jewelry, you’ll receive a free copy of Angels in the Dust by Louise Hogarth.

Increase awareness, understanding, compassion, and responsibility

. . . Until There’s A Cure

6 Misconceptions Young People Have About HIV/AIDS

Hydeia Broadbent Sets it Straight

BY TOMIKA ANDERSON

Reposted to showcase one of our newest spokes-people and proud partnerships: Hydeia Broadbent

Hydeia Broadbent has been living with HIV her entire life, but as she told Black Enterprise yesterday, that has not been a death sentence.  In fact, the 26-year-old AIDS activist has been a very vocal spokeswoman for awareness about the disease, which has reached epidemic proportions in the African American community. Black people account for 50 percent of all new HIV diagnoses in this country but only 12 percent of the U.S. population. Despite her work and increased public information about HIV/AIDS, Broadbent still encounters people who have outdated misconceptions about the disease.   It’s important to her that she set some records straight.

1. LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING You can’t look at someone and tell they have HIV. Often there aren’t any physical symptoms. If you’re sexually active you should go get tested every six months. If you’re in a relationship with someone, go get tested together. If you can’t [get them to go with you] you shouldn’t be sleeping with him or her.

2. HIV/AIDS DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE A lot of young people still associate HIV/AIDS as a gay man’s disease. It’s not. It can affect anyone at any time. There is a lot of hype over “men on the down low” spreading this disease in our community but that’s not how most of our girls/women are becoming infected. They’re mostly being infected by heterosexual men who have more than one sex partner that we may or may not know about. The H in HIV stands for human, which means anyone is at risk if they don’t protect themselves from being infected.

3. MEDICINE HELPS BUT THERE IS STILL NO CURE AIDS may no longer be a death sentence because of advancements in medicine but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t protect yourselves. Among other things, it’s a very expensive disease to live with. You don’t just pay for the medicine—you pay to see a doctor and to get blood work done. And it’s not guaranteed your state or the federal government will pay for any of this because of widespread funding cuts. While people are living longer, 18,000 die each year due to complications with AIDS, according to the CDC.

4. REAL LIFE IS NOT LIKE A RAP VIDEO Young people trying to emulate the rapper/hip-hop lifestyle is really hurting us. Kids want to live these glorified experiences out in real life—sleeping with lots of people, getting high on drugs and spending time in jail—but we’re not talking about the consequences of these actions. Being clouded by drugs and alcohol impairs your judgment. Having multiple sex partners increases your risk for infection.

5. HIV/AIDS IS NOT THE END OF YOUR SOCIAL LIFE It is possible to have a relationship with someone who is infected. You just need to know what’s safe and how to protect yourself.

6. HAVING HEALTHY KIDS IS STILL AN OPTION You can also have children if you are HIV positive. There are ways to protect your unborn child from being born with the disease. Consult your doctor to find out more.

iGive 2x Donations! 2/24 – 2/29 for Leap

iGive 2x Donations! 2/24 – 2/29 for Leap Year!

If you’re going to shop it might as well give back, too, right? Thanks for your support!

http://ow.ly/i/tDht

The Story of DISCLOSURE

Tyler Francis and Ryan Hunt have been together for over two years. The couple are very much in love and are about to start a family by adopting a son. As the adoption gets closer, Tyler realizes he must reveal a dark secret that he has kept from Ryan: his HIV-positive status. DISCLOSURE follows Ryan’s emotional journey after his discovery of Tyler’s status, exploring the emotional heartache, isolation and discrimination against those who are HIV-positive.

HOW CAN I BE A PART OF DISCLOSURE?

Making movies is expensive! That’s where you come in. Everyone on the project is working for free and in order to make a quality film, money needs to be spent on a camera, lighting & sound equipment, insurance, production design, locations, travel expenses, hair & makeup, and other working material and expenses. These expenses add up incredibly fast.

We are hoping to raise $10,000.

Please chose the amount of money you would like to contribute and click the “Contribute Now” button on the right side. Provide us with your information, leave a comment and chose your method of payment  to make your contribution. Don’t worry, IndieGoGo leads you through the process step by step.

All forms of contribution including credit card and PayPal through IndieGoGo are 100% guaranteed safe and secure.

To find out more about DISCLOSURE Film, visit http://www.indiegogo.com/Disclosurefilm

We’re today’s featured cause on AOL Im

We’re today’s featured cause on AOL Impact; check us out!

How will you be Raising Awareness tomorr

How will you be Raising Awareness tomorrow on National Black HIV/AIDS Day (and every day, of course)? http://ow.ly/8Uz4X

Feb 7 is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

February 7th is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

How Will You Help Raise Awareness?

By race/ethnicity, African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV in the United States. While making up only 13% of the U.S. population, they account for more than 49% of AIDS cases and 46% of people living with a diagnosis of an HIV infection. 

  

AIDS is now the leading cause of death for Black women ages 25 – 34

and the second leading cause of death for Black men ages 35 – 44

Despite extensive research, there still is no vaccine for HIV/AIDS. We encourage all Americans, especially communities of color, to recognize the impact of HIV/AIDS on their communities, to practice prevention, and to learn more about HIV vaccine research in order to make it a reality and to bring us closer to ending the epidemic.

Take Action 

There are many ways you can take action in the fight against HIV/AIDS:

• Get tested for HIV
• Practice safe methods to prevent HIV
• Decide not to engage in high risk behaviors
• Talk about HIV prevention with family, friends and colleagues
• Provide support to people living with HIV/AIDS
• Wear a Red Ribbon to restart the conversation and raise awareness for HIV/AIDS

Visit UNTIL.org to purchase a Red Beaded Ribbon Pin ($10)today so that you can wear it proudly on February 7 in honor of National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

Increase compassion, understanding and responsibility …

Until There’s A Cure

A Reflection on World AIDS Day 2011

December 1, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Today is World AIDS Day and a time for us to reflect on the past thirty years and how the HIV/AIDS pandemic changed our lives and our world. Many of you may remember the early years.  It took several years to identify this new disease and how it was transmitted and several more years before we had any effective treatment.  Since those early days we have made steady progress in research, treatment and care.  We have also developed significant funding resources both in our society and globally which allows us to provide needed treatment and care.  Through research and clinical trials we have expanded the list of effective medication regimens.   Recently, a new regimen of several drugs for positive people prevented transmission of HIV by 96% (exciting news).  Treatment as prevention is becoming the new way to control HIV.

Even though we may think there is a potential for an end of the HIV/AIDS pandemic (a light at the end of the tunnel) there is still much that needs to be accomplished.  Globally there are 2.7 million people that became infected each year for the past 5 years.  Millions of people (6.6 million) worldwide are on treatment, but 14.2 million are sick enough to need treatment, and it is estimated that many people are infected but do not know it.  In the United States, currently there are approximately 1.5 million living with HIV/AIDS, but approximately 20% of these infected people are unaware of their positive status.  Many are on treatment, but also thousands of people needing medications are on waiting lists for drugs funded through the Ryan White Care Program; and, unfortunately, approximately 56,000 people become infected each year.

Many of you know that I have been a longtime supporter and serve on the Board of Directors of Until There’s A Cure (UTAC).  UTAC is the AIDS Bracelet organization.  We sell the bracelet and other items in order to grant funds to other HIV/AIDS organizations.  Many of our grants have funded AIDS vaccine research, vaccine advocacy, care, and prevention.  We also have provided small grants to several international partner organizations (Africa) that produce products that we purchase to sell returning a share of the revenue to these organizations.  Please help us continue our mission by not only purchasing bracelets, but also donating directly to UTAC.   Eighty five percent (85%) of all revenues go directly into our outreach programs.  And on this World AIDS Day, let’s all re-commit to ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

 

I wish you all a joyous, blessed Holiday Season.

Much love and gratitude,

Helen

December 1st: World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1 each year around the world.  It has become one of the most recognized international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, honor those who have passed on, help increase consciousness, compassion, understanding, and responsibility as we continue to fight HIV/AIDS. World AIDS Day provides an opportunity for all of us – individuals, communities and political leaders – to take action and ensure that human rights are protected and global targets for HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care are met.

As you know when a disaster happens, everybody wants to help, but too often after six months, six years, we are on to a new story.  We are hoping that this will not happen to our cause. I am here to ask for help. Nearly thirty years into the epidemic, there is still no simple solution to breaking the cycle of HIV.

Worldwide, HIV remains a human tragedy — infecting more than 2.7 million each year. In the United States, more than 56,000 Americans are infected every year. That is one person every 9 ½ minutes.  The epidemic has claimed the lives of nearly 600,000 Americans and affects many more. Currently, there are more than a million Americans living with HIV. Almost half of all Americans know someone living with HIV.  We need to mobilize the country to support fighting HIV!

Why take a stand against HIV/AIDS now?

Because this year’s college graduates have never known a world without AIDS – let’s work to make sure that their children never have to know a world with it.  Because, for nearly 30 years, AIDS has been a matter of life and death in the United States and around the world; enough is enough.

Our dream is that no one else will become infected with HIV. For those who are HIV positive, we are dedicated, on their behalf, to educating all people about the virus and the overwhelming need for love and compassion in fighting this pandemic.

Please help us continue our fight by making a donation today www.until.org

With respect and gratitude

Nora Hanna

Executive Director