Pop star and M·A·C spokesperson Fergie announced 11 new grants yesterday from the M·A·C AIDS Fund, which will be geared toward HIV prevention among people ages 15 to 24, a group that accounts for half of new infections worldwide, MarketWatch reports. The $2.3 million M·A·C AIDS Fund Global Youth Prevention Initiative is funded solely from sales of the singer’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,” Fergie said. “As a musician, I’m able to reach a wider audience about issues close to my heart, and through the VIVA GLAM campaign, 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.”
Grant recipients include 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; SafeSpace NYC, Inc., in New York; 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.
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Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
Woman of the Month is supported by exclusive advertising from Gilead.
Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
