I still remember so vividly the courageous story of Elizabeth Glaser, her children, and their own public fight with AIDS 20 years ago. She was the first person to reach out to Congress, in fact, on behalf of children afflicted with the disease. So I’m thrilled to learn that her work continues all these years later through her wonderful foundation.
And it’s a great one to know about, especially now as the year rolls to a close.
Yesterday, I had the joy of attending an amazing, celebrity-studded
family benefit for the Elizabeth Glaser
Pediatric AIDS Foundation, called the Kids4Kids carnival. Of course
my girls flipped out over the Frozen Hot Chocolate from Serendipity, the
77 Kids t-shirt silk
screening, the princess dress-up area, and the Disney character photo
opps. (Also, thanks so much Bridget Moynihan for telling my kids to cut in
front of you–you’re my new favorite beautiful person.) But I really
like that it also gave me the opportunity to talk to my kids about the
real reason we were there, and introduce them to another way that kids
can help kids.
(At top, my girls signing the pledge to help end pediatric AIDS around
the world.)
Now, even while pediatric AIDS is mainly under control in
our own country, it’s still a huge problem in Africa. Hundreds of
thousands of babies contract it every single year from their mothers,
and less than 1/3 of them will get the treatment they need. This makes
it unlikely that these children will live to see two. Devastating.
As
the year creeps to a close and many of us wonder where to make those
last minute charitable donations, consider getting
involved with the EGPAF. Even a small $15 donation can help one
pregnant woman with HIV get the treatment she needs to prevent passing
it onto her baby.
I’d say that’s $15 extremely well spent. –Liz
Join
their mailing list and learn more about how you can help children
with HIV and AIDS around the world via the Elizabeth
Glaser Pediatric AIDS
Foundation.
