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The kNOw HIV/AIDS Campaign – Know, Prevent, Care, Cure

“No war on the face of the Earth is more destructive than the AIDS pandemic. I was a solider. But I know of no enemy in war more insidious or vicious than AIDS. Will history record a fateful moment in our time, on our watch, when action came too late?

~ Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell

The HIV/AIDS pandemic constitutes a global emergency and is the central justice issue of our time. I believe that we are fighting a war. I am a soldier in this war. 1 out of every 300 people in the United States are infected with HIV and it is not acceptable. I believe the AIDS crisis can be solved. HIV/AIDS is a manageable disease that has multiplied into a pandemic through deficient knowledge, lack of political will, neglect and discrimination. In the United States 1,185,000 people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS. Of that population, 24%-27% of people are undiagnosed and unaware of their HIV infection. Last year alone, the estimated number of diagnoses in the United States was 42,514. I am committed to making sure action does not come too late.

kNOw HIV/AIDS is a comprehensive campaign to attack the pandemic from all sides. The central motives of the campaign are to: 1. Know the disease, how it is caused and the facts about it. 2. Prevent the disease by becoming educated and taking measures to stop the spread. 3. Care for those who are HIV positive and insure them proper medical treatment and emotional support. 4. Cure the disease by raising funds for the development of new medicines and a vaccine.

In addition to the Campaign, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals provide the specialized care needed for 72% of the children in the United States afflicted with pediatric AIDS. The Miss America Organization’s new partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network has opened up an unprecedented opportunity to not only further the goals of the kNOw HIV/AIDS Campaign, but also the goals of Children’s Miracle Network and the Miss America Organization at the same time. As Nelson Mandela said, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than in the way in which it treats its children.” Through this partnership we have the power to erase pediatric AIDS forever. The goals of the kNOw HIV/AIDS Campaign and the Children’s Miracle Network are one in the same as both work to transform the quality of life for humanity.

AIDS has the potential to go down in the history books as one of the greatest tragedies in the history of humanity, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A cure may not be found in our lifetime, but our work today is critical to the children of tomorrow. To reverse the AIDS pandemic the public must become better informed, act quickly and with compassion.

I have worked vigorously throughout the past four years to make the goals of the kNOw HIV/AIDS Campaign a reality. My involvement in the kNOw HIV/AIDS Campaign began when I initiated Rhode Island’s first Peer HIV/AIDS Educator Program to reach out and actively engage Rhode Island youth in HIV prevention. I was chosen as one of three recipients of a Real Change Grant for a proposal I wrote regarding social change and HIV/AIDS. The grant was sponsored by the national “Raise Your Voice Campaign”. As a result of the grant, I became certified as an American Red Cross HIV/AIDS Instructor and trained a group of peers to be certified as well. We now fill an important void in Rhode Island communities by conducting HIV/AIDS workshops to enhance the well-being of citizens here in Rhode Island, a significant change that I am proud to have started.

This past year I was a founding member and the Director of Operations for Dancing for Children, a fundraiser and HIV/AIDS awareness event that netted $10,000 in its first event. The money will go directly to defray medical care costs and fund awareness and education programs for HIV/AIDS. Other efforts to further the kNOw HIV/AIDS Campaign include spearheading a community awareness event for World AIDS Day, as well as promoting and raising funds for Youth AIDS. I have served as a “buddy” for HIV positive people through AIDS Project RI on a weekly basis. I am actively forming partnerships with AIDS Care Ocean State’s Sunrise House which provides non-judgmental housing for those infected with HIV and the FACTS Nursery which provides specialized care for HIV positive and medically fragile infants. I volunteer with the Walk for Life - AIDS Walk, which is the single largest AIDS fundraiser in Rhode Island every year. I am a volunteer for the yearly International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. I travel the state with AIDS Quilt RI conducting Anna’s Workshop programs in schools for children to learn about AIDS and make panels to commemorate a life for the national AIDS Quilt. During my term of service this past year as a national Americorps volunteer, I worked with the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center’s after school program and teen center. I also volunteer weekly with Child and Family Services Positive Role Model for at risk youth living in group homes in Newport and the surrounding communities.

I am very proud to have added an international component to my efforts with the kNOw HIV/AIDS Campaign this year when I spent my winter break in Ghana, West Africa, volunteering as an AIDS Instructor in the Kokrobitey Village. As a result of my visit, I founded the African Women’s Micro-Finance Coalition to provide Sub-Saharan African women with micro-finance start up funds for small businesses. Micro-finance has been proven not only to change women’s lives forever, it empowers them, promotes women’s rights, reduces domestic violence and drastically reduces the incidence of AIDS in not only themselves, but their families and communities they live in. I am a volunteer at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, a member hospital of the Children’s Miracle Network and active in statewide fundraising and awareness events for this organization.

As Miss Rhode Island, I have begun to travel the state as a visible mentor, educator and friend, improving the lives of all Rhode Islanders through fulfilling the goals of the kNOw HIV/AIDS Campaign and the Children's Miracle Network. I tour Rhode Island giving presentations to local schools using my certification with the American Red Cross with information on how every individual can protect and empower themselves against HIV/AIDS. While at the schools, I am developing a preventative alliance of peer educators throughout the state to actively involve and inspire our youth to take action. I am actively expanding upon my advocacy and volunteerism for state wide organizations such as AIDS Project RI and AIDS Care Ocean State. I am using my experience as an international AIDS volunteer to reach out and connect with the youth demographic groups most at risk. I am providing a much needed voice for the lives effected by HIV through AIDS Quilt RI and Anna's Workshop panel making sessions for the contribution to the national AIDS quilt.

I am using the crown to bring positive recognition to children in treatment at Hasbro Children's Hospital as well as aggressively raising funds for betterment of the Children's Miracle Network. I am building rapport with the community, government, non-profits, businesses and schools of Rhode Island through dedication to my platform. I am launching my platform into the national spotlight by creating key partnerships with major national organizations such as UNICEF, the American Red Cross, the CDC, the William J. Clinton Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Be The Generation.Org, Plan USA, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Until There's A Cure, and YouthAIDS. Overall, I am working unwaveringly to support my platform and the Miss Rhode Island Organization everywhere in the state, inspiring people to take little, everyday steps to empower themselves and those they care about. By being a compassionate leader, trusted friend, and unwavering voice, I am paving the way to forever change our quality of life today and for tomorrow.