Fight Against AIDS - Five Ways To Make A Difference Without Leaving Your Chair
Great strides have been made in AIDS research in the last decade, but the fight's not over.
2.
5 million people worldwide were newly infected by AIDS in 2007, according to the Joint United Nations Project on HIV/AIDS.
The number is dropping, but we have a long way to go.
In these days of information overload, it can be tough to figure out the right way to help, so here are five ways, with the help of HIV community members at DailyStrength, that you can make a difference.
Use your computer: Use your computer to fight for you: Allow the Scripps Research Institution to use a little of your computer's processing power to run AIDS experiments.
Download their software from "Fight Aids at Home," and let it run in the background.
The setup is fast, and you can stop at any time.
Be creative: Use your skills to promote AIDS awareness.
Like photography? Take an AIDS related photo and submit it to photo sites to heighten AIDS awareness.
Like blogging? Contribute to an AIDS blog, or even start your own! What's your special skill? Use your wallet: Concerned that your money won't actually go to AIDS research? Do a little quick research, and make a difference through resources like theglobalfund.
org.
Even tiny amounts of money are meaningful if enough people donate.
Just the facts: You can't get AIDS from a mosquito bite.
And yet misconceptions like this continue to spread.
Do your friends and family have their HIV/AIDS facts straight? Enlighten them, and maybe yourself, with resources such as Wikipedia: "HIV and AIDS misconceptions.
" Email your senator or congressperson: Sound too hard? It's easier than you think.
Look for the right email address here: http://www.
senate.
gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.
cfm.
Then write a quick email.
For instance: "Dear Senator, I am concerned that so many Americans are still getting infected by AIDS every year.
I am writing to urge you to promote the importance of AIDS research and drug development .
.
.
" Your voice really does count.
Make it heard.
2.
5 million people worldwide were newly infected by AIDS in 2007, according to the Joint United Nations Project on HIV/AIDS.
The number is dropping, but we have a long way to go.
In these days of information overload, it can be tough to figure out the right way to help, so here are five ways, with the help of HIV community members at DailyStrength, that you can make a difference.
Use your computer: Use your computer to fight for you: Allow the Scripps Research Institution to use a little of your computer's processing power to run AIDS experiments.
Download their software from "Fight Aids at Home," and let it run in the background.
The setup is fast, and you can stop at any time.
Be creative: Use your skills to promote AIDS awareness.
Like photography? Take an AIDS related photo and submit it to photo sites to heighten AIDS awareness.
Like blogging? Contribute to an AIDS blog, or even start your own! What's your special skill? Use your wallet: Concerned that your money won't actually go to AIDS research? Do a little quick research, and make a difference through resources like theglobalfund.
org.
Even tiny amounts of money are meaningful if enough people donate.
Just the facts: You can't get AIDS from a mosquito bite.
And yet misconceptions like this continue to spread.
Do your friends and family have their HIV/AIDS facts straight? Enlighten them, and maybe yourself, with resources such as Wikipedia: "HIV and AIDS misconceptions.
" Email your senator or congressperson: Sound too hard? It's easier than you think.
Look for the right email address here: http://www.
senate.
gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.
cfm.
Then write a quick email.
For instance: "Dear Senator, I am concerned that so many Americans are still getting infected by AIDS every year.
I am writing to urge you to promote the importance of AIDS research and drug development .
.
.
" Your voice really does count.
Make it heard.