1By the end of 2007, it was estimated that nearly 33 million people worldwide were living with AIDS. Roughly a million of those people are living in the United States. To support volunteer efforts for AIDS, you can either work for an AIDS organization or give money.
- Educate yourself about AIDS--how it's contracted and what it means for those with a diagnosis. Check out the volunteer agencies in your community who work to place volunteers in jobs. Often there is training available through which you can become more educated about the disease. Barring actual training, consider reading one of the many books written about the disease.Give money to help agencies continue their efforts. Make sure when you donate money, the agency is a registered non-profit (if based in the United States) and that it provides detailed information about where the funds go and how they are used.Think about how you want your money to be used. Some AIDS organizations focus on hands-on efforts (like providing housing and food to poor people with AIDS), while others might focus their efforts on education. Still others might fund a telephone help line. Ask the organization you are considering donating money to questions about how they use the funds. Do their efforts coincide with your goals for your donation?Volunteer yourself. If you can’t give money, you can give your time. In each community, there’s usually at least one AIDS organization, and often more than one. Talk with the people who run the organization and find out if it meshes with your intentions as a volunteer. If you want to work on a help line, for example, make sure the organization has one in the community, or if you want to work closer with people with AIDS, you can become a "buddy."Support volunteer efforts by helping out at fundraisers. Support someone running in a race for AIDS or help hand out water bottles at the race. Ask friends or relatives who do volunteer how you can help them without getting fully involved. Any effort is usually welcome.Finally, make sure you get rid of any ignorance or preconceived (and inaccurate) notions about the disease. To be helpful, you must be educated and knowledgeable about the disease.
