Are you concerned about HIV and AIDS but feel powerless to do anything?  Don't think that one person can make a change?  Everyone can make a difference and your voice does count.  Check out some of the ways that you can become a prevention partner in the fight against AIDS.

Create an HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign at Your School

Ask your principal or advisor if you could put up posters or information about HIV/AIDS around your school.  You can get materials from your local AIDS service organization and get fact sheets from websites like www.kff.org or www.cdc.gov.  Or you can contact us at info@lifebeat.org.

Set up an HIV/AIDS awareness club.  Meet with your fellow students and discuss ways that you can get the word out to the school about the importance of HIV prevention.  Develop a weeklong series of events with special speakers around World AIDS Day on December 1st.

Become an Advocate

We the People... It's not just the start of a dusty old document.  The people do have a voice in the laws that are created and the policies that are implemented.  There are many ways that you can express your views to the people who make the decisions on the city, state and federal levels.

Start a petition.  People take notice when a group comes together to demand action.  You can use regular paper to collect signature or do an online petition.

It's important when doing a petition to state the problem you want to resolve.  Ask people to sign their names and addresses.  After collecting all of your signatures, make a photocopy of all of the pages.  Keep the copy and send the petition to the person who has the power to act on your ideas.

Where to find the people in power:
Local: Check out the municipal directory in your city or town for a list of council members, mayor and department heads.
State: Find your state legislators at www.ncsl.org/public/leglinks.cfm.
National: Go to www.house.gov to find your congressmen and www.senate.gov for your senators.  You can also contact the White House at www.whitehouse.gov.

Raise Funds

Many AIDS organizations operate on limited funds and appreciate all donations.  You can get your school to have a bake sale or a garage sale and donate the proceeds to an organization in your community.  Have a talent show or concert to raise money.

Volunteer

Organizations are always looking for volunteers both in the office and out in the field.  You can help in the office by stuffing envelopes, manning the phones, or researching information online.  Or you can become a peer educator.