Young people (15-24 years old) account for half
of all new HIV infections

More than 6,000 contract the virus each day

Your school can help make a difference!

As much as we would like it to, the effect of HIV/AIDS across our globe is not going away. AIDS is the worst plague in human history. Soon it will have killed more people than all the wars of the 20th century. In some communities it is now reaching catastrophic proportions.

It is important that young Australians are adequately educated about this issue and its impact on Australian society and the global community. Their generation will be crucial in the continuation of the fight against this disease, by helping other people around the world who cannot help themselves.

Often it's easy to assume there is no way for one person to make a difference. YEAH in conjunction with Westmead Millennium Institute, is offering your school the chance to get involved with a project designed to generate awareness of this issue and raise funds for HIV/AIDS research and the education of Australian youth about the issue of HIV/AIDS.

Join Us In 'Shades for AIDS'

YEAH are looking for schools who are interested in taking part in a Pilot 'Shades for AIDS' to be held in schools across Australia early 2007. The extent to which your school would be involved is up to you. It can be as simple as students donating $2 to wear a pair of sunglasses to school for the day or getting your students involved in a bigger fundraising event.

The idea is for your students to be creative, raise funds for AIDS education and for you to show young people that they can make a difference. The day will be a way for you to focus on educating your students about the issue of HIV/AIDS. We suggest this could be a student led initiative, perhaps the School Captain and student leadership committee could take the lead on this issue and organise the activities for this day.

Other possible ways to raise funds could be:

• Hold a music concert or dramatic performance
  
• Host a teacher slave auction where students bid to have teachers as their personal slaves for the day
  
• Having a day where students can spray their hair different colours for the cause
  
• Create your own AIDS awareness poster, radio or TV advertisement
  
• Write a song, poem, or story about HIV/AIDS

The possibilities are endless; the more creative and involved, the better!!

Education Components of the day could include:

• Book a school talk with a HIV/AIDS educator provided by YAH
  
• A student versus teacher debate on HIV.AIDS awareness
  
• A Public speaking competition based on the issues of AIDS
  
• Utilise the 'A Closer Walk' DVD and study guide activities in your classrooms

Click here for more info about YEAH

Westmead Millennium Institute is one of Australia's leading centres for AIDS research. It is making exciting discoveries which could potentially save the lives of millions of people across the globe. BUT research is expensive and funding is scarce.

Funds raised through 'Shades for Aids' will go straight back in to the community with 80% of the funds allocated to YEAH (in order to further fund educational resources for young people) and 20% allocated to the Millennium foundation (to fund AIDS research).

We strongly encourage you to consider being a part of this pilot program which aims to involve students in raising funds for a great cause and getting them actively participating in a creative way around an important issue of AIDS.

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