According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), half of all new HIV infections in this country occur in young people under the age of 25. While the total number of American youth who have been infected with HIV is unknown, it is estimated that 20,000 young people are infected with HIV every year. That means two young Americans between the ages of 13 and 24 are contracting HIV every hour.
"What if it Were You?" AIDS awareness project and youth HIV/AIDS poster contest is supported solely by volunteers. Your generous donations will help us to continue this heartfelt mission of keeping everyday awareness of HIV/AIDS in our communities।
Bob Bowers' work in Madison high schools to raise awareness about HIV has been very important to our community. Bob puts a human face on the issue and he inspires all of us to think about how this challenge can be overcome, not how it might overcome us. And I have no doubt that by raising awareness he has saved lives. I'm so impressed with this work that I proudly hang the winners of his annual What if it were you? poster contest in my office to remind me of this issue every day.
Collin Burke, a high school senior from Madison, Wisconsin, says he took art class “by accident.” The teacher soon had Burke and his classmates entering the “What If It Were You?” AIDS-poster contest. “We had to demonstrate ‘What would you do if you found you had AIDS,’ ” says Burke, 18. “My poster expresses that I would try to make the world understand the facts. You know, like a lightbulb going on.” He took first place out of 100 competitors; the poster (left) will decorate buses, hair salons and diners throughout Madison. Says AIDS activist Bob Bowers, who sponsors the program through HIVictorious.org, “We picked Collin’s poster and thought we knew everything about him—until he was interviewed by the media and we found out that his uncle died of AIDS before he was born.” Says Burke: “I wish I had known him.”
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