GRS named as M•A•C AIDS fund grant recepient
M•A•C AIDS FUND, FERGIE SPEARHEAD GLOBAL YOUTH INITIATIVE FOR HIV PREVENTION
MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CAMPAIGN AIMED AT COMBATTING SKYROCKETING HIV INFECTION RATE AMONG 15-24 YEAR-OLDS
New York, September 4, 2008: M•A•C VIVA GLAM VI spokesperson, Fergie, has announced 11 new grants from the M•A•C AIDS Fund aimed at preventing the spread of HIV among young people, ages 15-24, who account for approximately half of all new infections. The $2.5 million M•A•C AIDS Fund’s Global Youth Prevention Initiative is being funded exclusively from sales of Fergie’s VIVA GLAM VI Special Edition Lipglass.
“Every 15 seconds someone between the ages of 15 and 24 is infected with HIV, and combating the spread of this disease has a lot to do with raising awareness,” said Fergie. “As a musician, I’m able to reach a wider audience about issues close to my heart, and through the VIVA GLAM program, I’ve been able to get this message across to youth around the world. I’m so gratified that my lipglass has raised funds to help prevent youth across the globe from contracting HIV.”
The new Youth Initiative grantees will contribute to a new portfolio of programs that reach diverse groups of at-risk youth worldwide. Many of grant recipients are experimenting with novel and innovative approaches to HIV prevention, including online and sport-related methods; some are using MAF’s contribution to extend already successful programs to reach a wider group of youth.
“When we introduced Fergie in February 2008, we invited applicants worldwide to submit proposals for
large-scale prevention programs that focus on youth at high risk for HIV/AIDS infection,” said Nancy Mahon, Executive Director of the M•A•C AIDS Fund. “The M•A•C AIDS Fund’s Global Youth Prevention Initiative recipients are diverse and wide-ranging, but what is consistent is the immediate and concrete impact they are delivering in each of their communities.”
One New York-based grantee – SafeSpace NYC, Inc., a haven and helping hand for at-risk youth and families – is using its new grant to expand a music-based HIV prevention program and safe behaviour workshops and to outfit a community outreach van with informational materials, counselors and rapid HIV tests.
“Being homeless increases the chances that a young person will become HIV-positive by between two and 10 times. At SafeSpace, the young people we work with listen to Fergie’s music and look up to her,” said Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, President and CEO. “This grant from the M•A•C AIDS Fund will allow SafeSpace to provide coordinated and age-appropriate HIV prevention and treatment programs and will serve as a national and international model.”
Grant recipients include six other U.S.-based organizations and four groups working in India, Africa, Canada and Mexico. They are: Albert Einstein College of Medicine in India; Grassroot Soccer in Africa; the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention in Canada; the U.S. Mexico Border Health Association and Border AIDS Partnership; California Prevention & Education Project (CAL-PEP); Howard Brown Health Center (HBHC); Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center; Sexuality Information and Education of the United States; University of California San Francisco Foundation; and The Women’s Collective.
“The M•A•C AIDS Fund’s Global Youth Prevention Initiative complements our existing strategy to fund poor, underserved populations who are hardest hit by the epidemic,” said John Demsey, Chairman of the M•A•C AIDS Fund and Group President for Estée Lauder. “Fergie’s involvement, coupled with M•A•C Cosmetics staff’s passion for the cause and consumer support for our VIVA GLAM product, have allowed the M•A•C AIDS Fund to provide much needed assistance to organizations that will reach the world’s youth with life-changing programs to combat the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
ABOUT THE M•A•C AIDS FUND
The M•A•C AIDS Fund, the heart and soul of M•A•C Cosmetics, was established in 1994 to support men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS globally. MAF is a pioneer in HIV/AIDS funding, providing financial support to organizations working with underserved regions and populations. As the largest corporate non-pharmaceutical giver in the arena, MAF strives to raise awareness of four key issues in the fight against HIV/AIDS: prevention, the link between poverty and HIV/AIDS, access to care, and adherence to medications and treatments. To date, MAF has raised $128 million (U.S.) exclusively through the sale of M•A•C’s VIVA GLAM lipstick and lipglass, donating 100 per cent of the sale price to fight HIV/AIDS. For more information, visit www.macaidsfund.org.