Learning How Non-Profits Work

Hi there! I´m Bastian another German intern at Until There´s A Cure. Like my friends, Rebecca and Philipp, I study in Munich – sports event and media management. During my internship around Stanford and Silicon Valley I have the chance to work with Until There´s A Cure for four weeks.

During my first two years in university I was taught to make money out of everything – investing a lot in marketing and good strategies. So it was kind of difficult for me to understand the way how a Non-Profit Organization like UNTIL works. After some meetings with the UNTIL team everything was more clear for me. We had a lot to discuss, to make the best out of it and go on – step by step.
Two weeks ago Rebecca, Philipp and I started to work on some guidelines to push the Until There´s A Cure Foundation and create some new designs. Right now I am working with our webmaster on the layout and the design for our new website www.until.org.  You see, there is a lot to do at Until There´s A Cure. So why don´t you join us and have a great time – working in this team is great, you will see and learn a lot.

Hope to see you around the office,

Bastian

A New Experience

My name is Rebecca and I´m a student from Germany. I´m from the same university as Philipp the Intern at Until There´s A Cure. Since the beginning of August, I have been here in California for an Internship around Stanford and the Silicon Valley. We had the chance to travel a lot on the weekends, because of this we learned a lot about the life, landscape and culture.  And I was able to spend the last couple of weeks working at Until There’s A Cure, also.

I never expected that I would work at an HIV/AIDS foundation and I have to say that it´s a great experience. Philipp is working on the Corporate Identity and branding of Until There´s A Cure, so I came in to help him a bit, because it´s always easier to work in a team than alone. At our first meeting with the UNTIL team we had a lot to discuss and now we have a lot of work to complete!

I’m really glad that I’ve had this opportunity to spend time here.  It´s so great to be here, everyone is so helpful and wants that I learn a lot at my experiences at Until There´s A Cure.  And while I am teaching them a bit about branding they are teaching me a lot about HIV/AIDS and, of course, the U.S.A!

Glad to be here,

Rebecca

To find out more about Until There’s A Cure or purchase items to support the fight against HIV/AIDS, please visit www.until.org

HIV/AIDS: On the front page or not…

BY HANA KAJIMURA

The holiday season means a lot of travel. For me, airports and airplanes go hand in hand with magazines full of “holiday gift guides” and “2010 wrap ups”. As I flipped through the health page of the December 24^th-Jan 7^th edition of The Week, reading about how naps and dreams make us smarter, laughing makes us hungrier, and growing old makes us happier, my eyes focused at the bottom of the page—“New hope for blocking HIV.”

In a two year clinical trial in South Africa, women who used a fairly inexpensive vaginal gel containing medicine used to treat the AIDS virus, decreased their chances of infection by half. In another trial, a drug commonly used to treat people infected with AIDS, was completely preventative of infection among sexually active gay men if taken daily. After the first year, ¾ of the participants who continued to take the drug regularly remained healthy and uninfected.

Whenever I see a headline with the words HIV in the news, let alone in print, I can’t help but feel a little like I’ve just stumbled upon hidden treasure. While HIV/AIDS doesn’t make the front page very often, it should. When women around the world, no longer totally reliant on male condom use, are becoming empowered, and one of the largest at risk groups moves a step closer towards an answer, public attention is not only warranted, but deserved.

When HIV/AIDS doesn’t make major news, we cannot forget all those, infected and affected, living away from the headlines. This is my favorite time of year—especially because I have an excuse to tell those I love how thankful I am for them. The holidays are a time to appreciate all that we have now, all that we’ve had in the past, and all that is to come. They are a time to be around family and friends, and of course, a time to give.

The fact of the matter is we need more money for HIV/AIDS research, resources for those affected, and awareness for all. Whether it means buying a few bracelets to show the ones we love how much we care about them, or asking for a donation instead of a Christmas gift, we can all make a difference this holiday to “increase compassion, understanding and responsibility…Until There’s A Cure.”

Hana Kajimura is a freshman at Stanford University.

Responsibility

By Lindsay Steele

“Increase compassion, understanding and RESPONSIBILTY …Until There’s A Cure.”

This is the phrase that concludes all communications from Until There’s A Cure. These three values, compassion, understanding and responsibility, lie at the core of what we aim to instill in minds and hearts every where.

Yesterday, I, along with two others from Until There’s A Cure, met with the Downtown Youth Clinic in Oakland, CA, a clinic that serves HIV-positive youth between the ages of 13 and 24. This was a very insightful experience for me as we learned the perspectives from three different HIV-positive youth. One idea that came up was that of “responsibility”.

My ears perked up when I heard this word.

This youth talked about the idea of “joint responsibility” – the responsibility of both the HIV-positive and HIV-negative communities to protect ourselves, protect others, inform ourselves and inform others.

Whether or not we are infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS … We share physical and mental spaces each and every day with handshakes, hugs, high fives, ideas, opinions, cheers and more. If we share all of this and more, why would we not share responsibility for ending an epidemic that has taken the lives of over 33 million individuals?

Hearing this youth share his ideas of “joint responsibility” really hit me hard. I hope that you will assume your responsibility in the fight to end HIV/AIDS by sharing this blog post with others and continuing your support for Until There’s A Cure.

I would love to hear your thoughts on “joint responsibility”. Please comment on this post to share.

Student Perspectives on Safe Sex Education

“If you wear a condom you can’t get it, right?”

BY HANA KAJIMURA

Hana Kajimura is a freshman at Stanford University. We want to hear more student perspectives on the issue of Safe Sex Education on YOUR campuses. Please comment on this blog to share.

A couple times every day, as I walk down the hallway of my dorm on the way to class or to the dining hall, I walk past my RA’s (resident assistant) or PHE’s (peer health educator) room. These are the upperclassmen carefully screened and placed in the dorms to help us little freshman with the ins and outs of college life. One of the first things I noticed, and applauded, about all the freshman dorms on campus were the bowls of candy and condoms outside these designated rooms.

Still, while safe sex is integrated into dorm curriculum and talked about often, HIV/AIDS specifically, is not. Even on world AIDS day, when there was a table handing out red ribbon pins at the center of campus, the issue goes unnoticed. So it is always refreshing to hear the topic brought up casually over a meal, as some friends did the other day. “It’s weird to think that people on this campus have HIV,” said a friend. By no means do I consider myself an expert on the subject, but I do know that young people (ages 13-24) represent a substantial amount of new HIV cases every year. “If you wear a condom you can’t get it, right?”

In a place of “higher education,” a large proportion of young people are minimally concerned about the possibility of HIV infection. Often times, it is an after thought. Education is an integral part of the answer to almost every problem. Education leads to lower levels of poverty, higher economic viability, female empowerment, and lower incidence of HIV. This emphasis on education, both sexual and otherwise, is equally important in US high schools and college campuses.

The good news: We can all help to educate! A simple way to do this is by wearing your bracelet everyday. Education starts with awareness. The more people become aware of HIV/AIDS, the more they will talk about it to become educated and to educate others.

Thank you for listening to my perspective. I invite you to share my thoughts and to express your own with people you know.

6 Misconceptions Young People Have about HIV/AIDS

Hydeia Broadbent Sets it Straight

BY TOMIKA ANDERSON

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. For this year’s World AIDS Day she sets the record 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.

Tipping for a Cure

BY LINDSAY STEELE

I went to a coffee shop on Wednesday of last week and the barista was wearing a Christmas sweater. A bit early, no? I thought the holiday season didn’t officially kick-off until Thanksgiving was over… Or at least until the first of December!?

When I asked about the sweater, the barista claimed the “early cheer” was an attempt at getting more tips. This got me thinking …

Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. Why don’t we come together in the quest for a cure and donate the tips that we receive tomorrow to the fight against HIV/AIDS?

It doesn’t matter where or with whom you work. Simply set out a tip jar tomorrow to dedicate your work for the cure. Write something as simple as:

Today is World AIDS Day …

… Accepting tips for a cure.

Click here at the end of the day to donate your tips.

Then, comment on this post to share your World AIDS Day tip jar success stories. You can also e-mail me photos of your tip jars at Lindsay@utac.org.

I look forward to your stories!

Don’t forget about the $10,000 Donation Matching Challenge. When you make a donation between now and December 30, an anonymous donor will match it. This means that all tips that you donate tomorrow will be MATCHED!

Symbol of Larger Change

Change ignites from a single action.

BY HANA KAJIMURA

Pope Benedict XVI, the spokesman for one of the world’s largest religions, has changed the Catholic stance on condom use, namely in condoms as a potential solution to the AIDS pandemic.

While the Church still adamantly opposes the use of birth control, Pope Benedict XVI pronounced that condom use can be an effective and appropriate way to combat AIDS. The Pope believes that condom use is a step towards “moralization”, and signifies that the user is “taking into consideration the risk of the life of the person with whom you are having a relationship,” according to the Vatican’s spokesman, Father Lombardi. The Pope extended his remarks to women, men and transsexuals.

Any congratulatory remarks lie not in the specificity of his remarks but for merely bringing the issue to the table, as he is the first Pope to do so. For the courage to break away from the governing body of the Church, and for all the pushback he has and will face, I commend him. He effectively changed, in the course of days, what the Catholic Church has held true and sacred for centuries.

The Pope himself is a symbol of a larger change, the shift from the dissolution belief that AIDS is distant to the realization that it is present and pressing. Just last year on a trip through Africa, Pope Benedict claimed that the spread of AIDS could only be prevented by abstinence and responsibility. Since that approach hasn’t worked, he has taken a different one. We all must see that what we’ve tried in the past has only had marginal effects. Ignorance and intolerance have dug us into an even deeper hole.

I realize we don’t all have the power of the Pope and that not all of us can sway public opinion or gain the attention of world media, but as I’ve written before, we all have a voice. We must take matters into our own hands and convey the message directly that we can no longer “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.” No matter how provocative or unorthodox, safe sex and condom use is essential to slowing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Project RideRED Launches Today

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Project RideRED Campaign to Commemorate 30th Anniversary of AIDS

Cyclists commit to increase world-wide awareness of AIDS through tribute rides, social media outreach and fundraising efforts

LOS ANGELES – November 23, 2010 – Brian Hodes of VeloImages, a pro cycling photographer and longtime AIDS awareness advocate, today kicked off “Project RideRED,” a national campaign to raise awareness of and funds for a cure to AIDS/HIV. Timed to coincide with World AIDS Day, the launch of the year-long Project RideRED campaign commemorates the 30th anniversary of the first AIDS diagnosis and is a call to action for members of the cycling community to proactively make a difference in this cause. “More than a million people in the United States currently live with HIV, with more than 50,000 new infections occurring each year,” said Hodes. “The last thirty years of AIDS has brought heartache and suffering to too many families ––––- now is the time for us to stand together. I invite members of the cycling community everywhere to throw on a red jersey or red product and RideRED.” The campaign begins with a series of organized and individual tribute rides on November 28, 2010. People from all over the world have committed to RideRED, meaning they will ride 30 miles (one mile for each year of known AIDS infection) while wearing red. These rides aim to increase awareness of AIDS and memorialize persons who died from AIDS/HIV. Following World AIDS Day rides, cyclists can RideRED all year long by sporting red clothing, accessories, components and/or bikes when they ride. To support these efforts, several manufacturers are stepping up to provide special Project RideRED products that will be available through www.projectridered.org. Here, cyclists can purchase limited edition items from Primal Wear, HUDZ, Rolf Prima, FLUID, Earth, Wind and Rider, SIDI America and Walz Caps, to name a few. All proceeds from the sale of these items will benefit Until There’s a Cure®.

Over the coming year, Project RideRED will also be collecting and posting video pledges to its Facebook fan page and website. Individuals are encouraged to make a simple video clip by wearing red, and stating their name, occupation and the commitment, “I’ll RideRED Until There’s a Cure.” Instructions and examples are available online at the links above. Interested participants can send their video clips to Brian Hodes at info@projectridered.org or upload directly to Facebook. Additional initiatives and opportunities to support Project RideRED will be unveiled on its Facebook fan page and website during 2011. Manufactures interested in supplying Project RideRED with red or cause-themed fundraising items should contact Brain Hodes at brian@veloimages.com.

About Project RideRED: Project RideRed (www.projectridered.org) is national campaign aimed at raising awareness and funds for a cure for AIDS/HIV. During 2011, the anniversary year for the first AIDS diagnosis, Project RideRed will meet its goals through tribute rides, social media outreach and the sale of RideRed items.

# # # MEDIA CONTACTS: Chip Smith, SOAR Communications, P 801.656.0472 x1 / C 801.597.7515, csmith@soarcomm.com Maura Lansford, SOAR Communications, P 801.656.0472 x2 / C 817.929.8123, mlansford@soarcomm.com

 

What I Promise to Remember Daily …

BY STEPHANIE GEBALLE

I am very excited to present the most recent addition to the Until There’s A Cure product line, the Thanda Zulu Slinky and Flat Thin Bracelets. I discovered these bracelets while I was doing research one day … and I have to admit, I fell in love with them even before I knew the wonderful story behind them! My fellow UTACers agreed that the bracelets were fun, that the story is unique and touching, and that a partnership would be positively impactful!

What is the story you ask? …

In a far away land … ZwaZulu-Natal, South Africa to be exact … there are a group of women who hand make jewelry in their homes, allowing them to be employed and care for their children simultaneously, as a part a project called The Zulu Beadwork Project. This Project is unique as it helps to empower women by providing them with jobs and paying them a very fair wage. This simple concept goes a very long ways in South Africa — The employment that the Project gives these women is a vital tool in the prevention of HIV/AIDS as it dissuades the women from engaging in risky behavior for money and empowers them as individuals. The Project then sells the bracelets that these women make and proceeds from the sales of the Thanda Zulu Bracelets go back to South Africa to support programs working with children made vulnerable or orphaned by AIDS. Pretty amazing story, eh?

As I continued my research, I found some statistics that were shocking to me! Did you know that …

• According to UNAIDS, 21.5 percent of South African adults are HIV positive?
• Approximately 1 in 3 South African adults is unemployed?
• At the current rate of AIDS deaths, one in three South African children could be orphaned by 2015?
• Three in four South African children live in poverty?
• In South Africa alone, there are between 1.5 and 3 million children who have lost one or both parents due to the HIV/AIDS?
• It is estimated that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has created half of the country’s orphans?

I promise to wear my new Bracelet as a reminder that HIV/AIDS not only affects the people living with the disease but also the people (and in this case, the CHILDREN) living around them.

Do you have a promise with the bracelets that you wear? I’d love to hear it! Comment on this post to share your story.

Do you want to join me in supporting The Zulu Beadwork Project? Click here to purchase your Slinky and Flat Thin Bracelets.