Today is World Aids Day - It only Takes a Minute to Help

Today is World AIDS Day. As we take a moment to remember those impacted by this disease and support those living with HIV, there’s something you can do to help. What You Can Do and our friends at Angelwish share how you can help grant the wish of a child living with HIV/AIDS.

Help Brighten the Day of a Child Living with Chronic Illness

One of the first organizations that Jess ever volunteered with was AIDS Project Worcester . Through working at this organization, Jess learned a lot about giving back to her community and it helped instill a lifelong passion of helping people in need.

Cut to many years later, when we were looking to sign on organizations for What You Can Do. We came across Angelwish, an organization helping children living with chronic illness. They were one of the first organizations to join on to this project and were part of our initial 21 videos. Angelwish has developed over the years from focusing on children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS to reaching out to children living with or affected by chronic illness (such as diabetes, asthma or kidney disease).

At the heart of Angelwish is their Wish Program. Simply click on the country and then state where you want to help. You can select a program in your community to get started. Angelwish also has an Amazon Wishlist where you can purchase gifts that they will get into the hands of children in need. On the right hand side of the wishlist, you will see where the gift is going.

For today's challenge, I will grant a wish and hope that it helps brighten a child's day.
Will you join me?
Thanks

An Interview with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)

We'd like to thank Lauren Wesolowski, Communications Associate at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative for taking the time to answer some questions regarding the work that IAVI is doing. For more information, check them out at: www.iavi.org

Please tell us about IAVI and the work that you are doing.
The mission of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is to ensure the development of preventive AIDS vaccines that are not only safe and effective, but also appropriate for and accessible to all people, including those in the developing world, where some 95% of new HIV infections occur. IAVI invests the bulk of its resources in the research and clinical assessment of candidate vaccines. IAVI works around the world to apply promising scientific ideas and technologies to the design and swift development of AIDS vaccines.

In developing countries, we work closely with governmental, civic and community organizations to ensure the transparent and ethical conduct of clinical trials.
We also analyze and develop policies to promote the involvement of the private sector in AIDS vaccine research and development. And we advocate for policies that will ensure that once an AIDS vaccine is developed, it will be swiftly produced and distributed and priced as inexpensively as possible worldwide.


What is a preventive vaccine?
A preventive vaccine is a substance introduced into the human body that teaches the immune system to detect and destroy a pathogen—which is a particular virus, bacterium or parasite that causes a preventable disease. All vaccines contain some harmless form or part of the pathogen they target. They exert their effects through the adaptive immune response, an arm of the immune system that learns to recognize and neutralize specific pathogens (as opposed to pathogens in general).

Traditionally, vaccines are the most cost-effective, high-impact public health interventions for coping with infectious disease. And an AIDS vaccine offers the best hope of ending, and not just mitigating, the pandemic.

Does an AIDS vaccine exist?

At this time, no licensed AIDS vaccine exists anywhere in the world. However, many AIDS vaccine candidates are being studied by researchers and some are being tested in clinical trials throughout the world.

Developing any vaccine takes a very long time. The polio vaccine, for example, took over 40 years to develop. An effective AIDS vaccine is particularly hard to develop for many reasons. The science involved in designing an AIDS vaccine is very complicated. HIV is very good at evading the immune system, making it hard for scientists to understand how to create the best immune response with a vaccine. Once scientists develop a possible vaccine, the process of testing it in animals and humans is very lengthy.

In 2009, in a clinical trial in Thailand, an AIDS vaccine candidate reduced the risk of HIV infection by about 30%. This was a modest result, but it did prove that an AIDS vaccine can work in humans. Now researchers are working to improve on that result.

How widespread is the HIV/AIDS epidemic?
In the 27 years since scientists identified HIV as the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), it has spread relentlessly, causing one of the most devastating pandemics ever recorded in human history. Nearly 30 million people have died from HIV-related causes, and roughly 33.3 million are living with HIV.

AIDS remains the fourth leading cause of death globally. Every day 7,100 people worldwide become newly infected with HIV, and the most vulnerable people in the world continue to bear the heaviest burden of this merciless disease. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for nearly three-quarters of all AIDS-related deaths in 2009. And the epidemic seems to be emerging with a new ferocity in other parts of the planet, including China, Indonesia, pockets of Eastern Europe and Central Asia as well as in high-income countries like Germany, Britain and Australia.

How can the average person get involved and help?

An AIDS vaccine is the world's best hope for ending the epidemic. Giving to IAVI means helping to ensure the development of safe, effective, accessible, preventive HIV vaccines for use throughout the world.
Donations help IAVI to conduct medical and scientific research; develop new AIDS vaccine candidates; build the capacity to conduct AIDS vaccine trials, including the construction of state-of-the-art laboratory and clinical facilities in developing countries; educate local communities most affected by the pandemic and engage them in the effort to develop an AIDS vaccine; increase awareness of and commitment to AIDS vaccine development; and advocate for the increased attention of policy makers to the need for an AIDS vaccine.

It’s also important to spread the word that the world needs an AIDS vaccine. You can connect with IAVI and help us share this important message through a variety of social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and LinkedIn.

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To learn more about the AIDS Vaccine, please visit - IAVI

Help Fight AIDS in Africa

Think there's nothing you can do to Help Fight AIDS in Africa in 1 Minute?

Starring - Maria Christina Perry
Written by -  Jessica Arinella & Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: Mercy Corps, www.mercycorps.org

Special Thanks: Sylvia Ross, and everyone at Mercy Corps, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Get Screened for HIV/AIDS

Think there's nothing you can do to Help Fight HIV/AIDS in 1 Minute?

Starring - Nikaury Rodriguez
Written by -  Jessica Arinella & Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: AIDS Project Worcester, www.aidsprojectworcester.org

Special Thanks: Martha Akstin and everyone at AIDS Project Worcester, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Support an AIDS Vaccine

Think there's nothing you can do to Help Fight HIV/AIDS in 1 Minute?

Starring - Wilton Yeung
Written by -  Jessica Arinella & Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, www.iavi.org
**The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) updated their official statistics on HIV epidemiology shortly after this film was produced. The updated figures reflect that there were 2.6 million new HIV infections in 2009, or about 7,100 new infections each day

Special Thanks: Lauren Wesolowski and everyone at The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

The AIDS Memorial Quilt

Think there's nothing you can do to Spread the word about HIV/AIDS in 1 Minute?

Starring - Alicia Arinella & Jack Halaby
Written by -  Jessica Arinella & Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: The Names Project Foundation- www.aidsquilt.org

Special Thanks: Janece Shaffer and everyone at The Names Project Foundation, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

Help Prevent HIV/AIDS

Think there's nothing you can do to Help Fight HIV/AIDS in 1 Minute?

Starring - Julie Tortorici
Written by -  Jessica Arinella & Julie Tortorici
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistics Provided by: Path, www.path.org

Special Thanks: Dawn Bass, Teresa Guillien and everyone at PATH, and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

About The AIDS Memorial Quilt

Below is our interview with Janece Shaffer, Director of Communications at The Names Project Foundation. The Names Project Foundation is the international caretaker of The AIDS Memorial Quilt. Find out more about this amazing, ongoing living memorial.


1. Can you tell us a little bit about the AIDS Memorial Quilt? Why was it started?
In October 1987, a group of friends gathered in a San Francisco storefront armed with an idea that would inspire their community, their country and ultimately the world. They gathered to remember the names of friends and loved ones lost to a disease that would be called AIDS. With fabric and markers, needles and thread, fear and hope, loss and love, they began to create what would become The AIDS Memorial Quilt -- the most democratic memorial ever made and the largest ongoing piece of community folk art in the world.

And so what began with a single name and a 3 foot by 6 foot stretch of fabric now includes more than 47,000 panels honoring more than 92,000 people lost to AIDS. This handmade memorial, a testament to entire lifetimes of love and joy, now forms one of the world’s most powerful weapons in the battle to educate about HIV/AIDS.

With teddy bears and Boy Scout badges, wedding rings and faded photographs, The AIDS Memorial Quilt is a vivid reminder that HIV/AIDS can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any age. It allows us to see not a disease or a set of statistics, but a mother, a child, a father or a brother. By revealing the humanity behind the statistics, The Quilt helps teach compassion, triumphs over taboo, stigma and phobia; and inspires individuals to take direct responsibility for their own well-being and that of their family, friends and community.

2. Does it raise funds for HIV/AIDS? If so, how does that work?
Since its founding in 1987, The NAMES Project Foundation, the international caretaker of The Quilt, has raised more than $4 million for direct services for people with AIDS.

The NAMES Project is committed to caring for the aging, handmade 54-ton AIDS Memorial Quilt so that it’s life saving messages can be shared with future generations. The costs associated with hosting a display of The Quilt also go to supporting and maintaining this important American treasure.


3. What is the Quilt made out of?
The Quilt is made up of 3-foot by 6-foot cloth panels that were created one at a time for individuals lost to HIV/AIDS and eight of these panels are bundled together to create a 12-foot by 12-foot section of Quilt. Every display of The Quilt is composed of these 12-foot by 12-foot Quilt sections.

The 47,000 panels of The Quilt are as unique as the individuals they memorialize and they include wedding rings, love letters, half a bowling ball, oil paintings, 100-year old quilts, snorkel masks, human hair, cowboy boots, shower curtain, photographs, stuffed animals, tuxedos – and so much more.


4. What is the historical and ongoing significance of the Quilt?
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is an ever changing, living memorial dedicated to the mission of remembrance, education, inspiration and conscience. And The NAMES Project works to preserve, care for and use The AIDS Memorial Quilt to foster healing, advance social justice and inspire action.

Throughout its history The Quilt – now recognized through an act of Congress as an American Treasure - has been used to fight prejudice, raise awareness and funding, as a means to link hands with the global community in the fight against AIDS, and as an effective tool in HIV and AIDS education and prevention

New single panels arrive at The NAMES Project on a regular basis and sections of The Quilt are continuously on display across the country – in middle and high schools, on college campuses, in places of worship, community centers, businesses, government centers and corporations – making the realities of HIV/AIDS shockingly real and moving to each of us regardless of ethnicity, class or social group.

Wherever it is displayed, The Quilt provides balm for the painful wounds of grief, pours oil into the waters made turbulent by controversy, opens eyes that refuse to see and enlists every person who experiences it to play a role in stopping the pandemic. It is difficult to walk away from The Quilt unchanged.

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To learn more, please visit - The Names Project Foundation

Children Affected by HIV/AIDS

Think there's nothing you can do to help kids affected by HIV/AIDS in 1 Minute?

Starring - Nikaury Rodriguez
Written by - Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by - Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Consulting Producer - Mary Micari
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group

Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical Information provided by: Angelwish, www,angelwish.org

Special Thanks - Shimmy Mehta and everyone at Angelwish, Maureen Halaby and Dennis Arinella

For more information, please visit - www.whatyoucando365.com

An interview with Shimmy Mheta, CEO & Founder of Angelwish

Shimmy Mehta, CEO and Founder of Angelwish, was one of the first people to sign their organization up for What You Can Do, and we were very excited to have this amazing organization on board. Angelwish’s main focus is to grant wishes for children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. See our interview with Shimmy below to find our more about this organization and where his inspiration for starting it came from.

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1. Can you talk a little bit about why you started Angelwish?

I started Angelwish because of a somewhat selfish motive. I was looking for a simple, yet effective way for me to help the community.I traveled a great deal at the time and physically volunteering was not an option. I reached out to several HIV/AIDS organizations that treated children that I had helped when I was in college and asked how I could help this under-served population. Their response was that they didn't need a new x-ray machine or anything medical in nature. They really needed simple items such as holiday or birthday toys for the parents to give to the children. I quickly realized that these simple and inexpensive items could have such a huge impact - and I made that the cornerstone of what we do.

2. Where did your inspiration come from?

I'm a kid at heart - and enjoy helping others help those in need. Angelwish facilitates happiness multiple times over because not only does the donor benefit from giving, but their gift is given to a social worker who will give the gift to a parent who is sick and out of work to give to their child.

3. Can you talk a little bit about some of the emotional challenges that children living with HIV/AIDS face?

Children living with HIV/AIDS have a lot of obstacles to overcome emotionally. There is still a very large stigma attached to the disease, whether the child is infected or affected. While pediatric infection rates have diminished, the adult infection rate continues to rise. Many of these infections happen to people who already have children. Imagine losing a parent at age 5 or 8? The children that we work with have experienced tremendous loss and abandonment. They have lost much of their childhood and have had to grow up very quickly in order to take care of their parents or siblings.

4. Outside of great healthcare, what, in your experience, is the biggest need that children with or affected by HIV/AIDS have?

Children living with HIV/AIDS (infected or affected) need the stigma-less support and compassion of their communities. Years ago, it was assumed that children living with HIV/AIDS would not livebeyond the age of 12 or 13. Thanks to medication, long lives can be led. Children that we work with are being brought into more mainstream programs that will help them achieve their goals and we should encourage them to do so.

5. Where do you see Angelwish 5 years from now?

Angelwish has been evolving since we began this journey in 1999. I'd like to see Angelwish helping children all over the world that are in jeopardy of losing their childhood to chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, asthma or diabetes. We've all been children at one point or another...let's share a little bit of that with someone who hasn't had the pleasure yet.

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For more information about Children living with HIV/AIDS or to find out ways you can help, please visit - Angelwish

An Interview with Susanna Masur from Action Against Hunger

An Interview with Susanna Masur from Action Against Hunger

Closing out hunger week, Jessica and I wanted to interview someone who could speak to this devastating issue on an international level. Our interview with City Harvest allowed us to address the impact of hunger locally, so we felt it was important to also look at it from an international standpoint.

I have known about the organization, Action Against Hunger for some time now. I am on their newsletter list and I’ve always been interested in the work they were doing. Once we began “What You Can Do” they were one of the organizations I was hoping would sign on and sure enough – they did! Below is my interview with Susannah Masur from Action Against Hunger. In getting her expert viewpoint, what I found most interesting was that, while most of us know how widespread an epidemic hunger and malnutrition are, I’m not sure how many people realize that there are specific solutions out there. Indeed, this problem seems to come with some hopeful answers.

The following is the interview with Susannah. Hopefully you find it as interesting as I did!

1. What, if any, misconceptions do you feel that people have about world hunger?

One major misconception is that world hunger is a problem too daunting to solve. In reality, the fight against hunger can be won. We have the tools and knowledge to do it. What we lack is the political will. In the 21^st century, we’ve made major strides in the battle against HIV/AIDS. And most countries on earth have banned the use of landmines. We can do the same for hunger, but people have to stand up and demand it.

Another common misconception is that hunger is mostly limited to Africa. On the contrary, malnutrition is rampant throughout much of the developing world. In fact, the country with the greatest number of malnourished children is actually India. Despite their growing middle class, millions of children there don’t get the nutrients they need to survive.

2. In your opinion, what is the greatest hope on the horizon regarding the fight against world hunger?

There is reason to be very optimistic about the fight against hunger. For the first time in history, we can end acute malnutrition, a condition that affects some 55 million children today and kills up to five million of them every year.

A range of nutritional products has been developed in the last few years that has literally revolutionized the treatment and prevention of acute malnutrition. Ready-to-Use Foods, or RUFs for short, are specially formulated to jumpstart a malnourished child’s metabolism, revive organ and cell function, and initiate weight gain. Unlike previous products, they require no preparation, no mixing with water, no refrigeration, and most importantly, no hospitalization. Action Against Hunger has saved hundreds of thousands of lives using these RUFs by working with community members to identify, treat, and follow-up with acutely malnourished children. Still, less than 10% of children suffering from acute malnutrition around the world have access to life-saving treatment.

The good news is that community-based care using RUFs can be scaled up to reach the millions of children suffering from the condition. Unfortunately, this hasn’t happened yet because it hasn’t been made a priority. At Action Against Hunger, we’re trying to change that through a new campaign to end acute malnutrition. Visitwww.actionagainsthunger.org/end-malnutrition to learn more.

3. If someone is motivated beyond our 1 minute idea in the fight to end world hunger, what is your recommendation for them to do?

They can stay informed about the issues by signing up for newsletters and email alerts. They can visit www.actionagainsthunger.org/get-involved/join-us to keep up-to-date on Action Against Hunger’s life-saving humanitarian programs and latest developments in the fight against hunger.

Or, they can donate to organizations like Action Against Hunger that have proven success in fighting hunger and are cost-effective. Given more time, they can host a party at home to raise awareness and funds for organizations of their choosing.

Or what about giving a gift that gives back? There are a number of establishments that donate a portion of their proceeds to hunger organizations. Visithttp://www.actionagainsthunger.org/get-involved/partnerships for a list of participating stores.

4. Has working with Action Against Hunger changed you in any way that you’d like to share with our audience?

Action Against Hunger is an extraordinary organization, and I’m privileged to be among a group of dedicated and passionate colleagues. I’ve been truly inspired by their work with populations in crisis and by the professionalism they show, even under the most difficult circumstances.

I’ll give you one example: Daisy Nyaga, our Public Health Program Manager in Kenya, was just honored for the extraordinary work she does in distressed communities. Daisy works with families to improve their health and prevent illnesses like malaria, dysentery, and cholera that are major contributing factors to malnutrition and kill millions of children in developing countries every year. She spends hours and hours talking to mothers and their children about basic care practices—like the importance of breast-feeding and nutrient-rich diets—and steps they can take to improve hygiene and sanitation. This is exhausting work, but it’s critically important in Kenya and other countries where unsanitary conditions lead to childhood deaths. It’s amazing what a difference she and the thousands of other Action Against Hunger staff working around the world have made. I’ve learned a tremendous amount from them.

think there's nothing you can do to support a Child living with HIV/AIDS?

Think there's nothing you can do to help Children Living with HIV/AIDS in 1 Minute?

Starring: Nikaury Rodriquez
Written by: Julie Tortorici & Jessica Arinella
Shot, Edited and Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Produced by: On the Leesh Productions
Consulting Producer: Mary Micari
Music by: Banana Whale
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group
Additional Footage Provided by: Shutterstock, Inc. Used by Permission

Statistical information provided by: Angelwish - www.angelwish.org

Special Thanks: Shimmy Mehta and everyone at AngelwishThe Rakshys Familiy, Maureen Halaby
Dennis Arinella and everyone at WLIW