fighting irish, fighting poverty, fighting AIDS

a post from the (RED) blog

2009-03-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Congress Approves Bill with $900 Million for the Global Fund

We’d love to share some great news with everyone that came in late yesterday. The U.S. Senate voted to pass H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations bill including $900 million for the Global Fund. As some of you may know the Global Fund is the leading financer of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. (RED) is the Global Fund’s largest private sector contributor as a direct result of your (RED) purchases. Up to half of the profits of all (RED) products are contributed to the Global Fund, and every dollar raised is effectively and immediately translated into lives saved. At the end of 2008, Global Fund-supported programs had averted more than 2.5 million deaths by providing AIDS treatment for two million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 4.6 million people and 70 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria.

The Global Fund is hard at work utilizing grant money in 140 countries in efforts to prevent and ultimately eradicate these diseases, with Rwanda, Ghana, Lesotho and Swaziland specifically receiving (RED) funds to fight AIDS. With an astonishing number of people living globally with these preventable diseases there is an urgent and dire need for funding. But a little goes a long way and every bit helps. To put it into perspective the approximate cost of keeping someone with HIV on antiretroviral therapy is at a cost of 43 cents a day. And the purchase of an ipod nano (PRODUCT) RED could support more than 3 weeks of medicine for one individual - imagine what can be done with this $900 million.

So thanks to the work of the United States Congress on this bill and each and everyone’s dedicated support of the Global Fund and the (RED) idea we are truly making a difference. To read more on the Senate’s approval of this bill click here.

February -

2009-02-18T19:42:00.001-08:00

long time no post

this past semester we worked closely with the law school here @ ND and we were able to help organize the law school's AIDS awareness week -

it was really awesome to see the panel of LLM students (lawyers working on their masters) from sub-saharan africa present on the crises in their respective countries... we had speakers from kenya, uganda, south africa, chad, and sierra leone

many law students also contributed in the discussions and came to learn about the AIDS crisis both here and globally and about (RED) too!

more than 40 emails and signatures were collected and lexisnexis (the google of law schools) created a questionnaire and donated $1 per questionnaire filled out to the global fund!

exciting things ahead

hopefully pix will be up soon

(simon)

Post World AIDS Day Symposium

2008-12-09T18:55:00.000-08:00

i believe a big thank you is first in order

thank you –
to our three speakers; fr. bob dowd, fr. paulinus odozor, and dr. malcolm fraser
to student government and the social concerns committee
to the (RED) planning committee
to the 68 people who attended our event

we really got a fascinating interdisciplinary perspective on HIV/AIDS and the impact of the disease, specifically in africa

we’re pleased that so many of you showed up to learn about the crisis and also learn about solutions, like the global fund and what outlets like (RED) are doing to help you be part of change – specifically during this holiday season

again thank you and best of luck on your finals and have a merry christmas!

12.08.08 - a week after world AIDS day

2008-12-04T11:52:00.001-08:00

(RED) @ ND Video Shooting

2008-11-02T22:48:00.000-08:00

this wednesday night at lafortune student center

in the 3rd floor - we will be filming a student video about AIDS in Africa and about (RED).

it will be part public service announcement, part call to action and part promotion

we hope to see you there

(simon)

have a happy break

2008-10-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

slowly but surely we got our message out these past few weeks -

rest up folks, 'cuz when this break is done we are going to amp up our efforts to make notre dame (RED)

go irish, go (RED)

not(re d)ame

2008-10-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

we're up and active now people -

i'm sure a few of you guys were able to catch us at south dining hall on thursday

if not saw us walking around with ginormous "embraces" (brackets) on game day

what can i say? Notre Dame is turning (RED)

a few weeks in

2008-09-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

what? it's the middle of september already? how did this happen?

a few weeks into this school year we've hit a few rough patches, but also have seen so many things to be optimistic about.

the student activities office, as usual, is tough to get through - i'm not sure if their steel wall is justified, but hey, they gotta do what they gotta do....

i'd like to thank andrea for the ginormous "embraces" that she singlehandedly created - they're gonna come in very handy this school year and they will be iconic on this campus - kinda like jimmy clausen's golden locks... so sexy... eh... not really (but 5 tds in 2 games is kinda sexy)

we've received almost all of the appropriate materials to get the ball rolling and now that we officially have the backing of the social concerns committee branch of the student government, things are looking rosy for the future (you know what else looks rosy? our football team)

but here we go - you all are gonna see us around

go irish beat spartans

(simon)

back to school

2008-08-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

i've moved back into campus today -

the room's still a mess and classes start tomorrow, so i should really get in check with what i ought to do -

but for now i'm excited about what's in store for us this coming year

i believe we, the university of notre dame, will be able to make a lasting impact in the global fight against AIDS - and have a winning football season

in love and peace and everything else woodstock stood for,
simon

how (RED) is relevant

2008-07-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

if you've read my last post you probably got a gist of my vision - a vision that i think is a vision of many - a vision that i think our generation will achieve

now i would like to introduce (RED) to you, and to this campus

(RED) is not a charity - as many of you know it's a brand that's designed to sustain a continuous flow of private funds to the Global Fund - which basically is a warchest designed by the UN to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and TB

(RED) as a brand partners with corporations that we are already familiar with and purchase from. these companies - which include Apple, Gap, Dell, Microsoft, Converse, Hallmark and Emporio Armani among others - produce (RED) marked producst and a significant portion from the sales of these products go directly to the Global Fund - without going through (RED)

this more than anything, is revolutionary - tapping directly into the market and introducting a world of mere buyers and sellers to a new chapter called conscious consumerism. a path that not only in the short term will help fight the diseases that are claiming a continent, but will also bring economic justice to the world

(RED) products aren't priced any higher than non-(RED) products and no, they aren't are colored red - but what it does do is give the average consumer not only a product that they want, but also save a life along the way

"there's a word i don't throw around that often - genius" - kevin spacey in "21"

(simon)

on a side note - i think "the dark knight" may or may not have changed my life ;)

7-1-08: genesis

2008-07-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

it's officially the start of the second half of the year 2008.
a year that is filled with so much electricity - everywhere. we've got a historical election season underway, the summer olympics in a month, and many other things lie ahead

yet this world has its problems too - the ever rising gas and food prices, sales dropping everywhere... but the world still needs to see what the greatest problem we as a human race face today

extreme poverty and disease is basically erasing a whole continent and for so long the world has stood behind the sidelines and watched.

it's time that this ends - it's time that our generation rise and recognize that it's not okay that a child still dies because of a mosquito bite, that it's not okay that nearly 5000 lives are stolen on a daily basis in sub-saharan afica because of poverty related issues - it's time that we do something about it

this place is for everyone who stands for these issues - mainly for students and friends of the university of notre dame - as we join the global fight against this injustice

go irish, beat poverty - suck it injustice - go irish go

(simon)