One Text. One HIV Test.
Earlier this week, I bought two designer coffees for a client meeting and spent just under $10. In less than an hour both coffees were gone and the cups were recycled.
Tomorrow, as part of a World AIDS Day text-to-give campaign – #knowpositive – for the Indiana AIDS Fund, I can text KNOW to 20222 and donate $10 for a rapid HIV test. With a rapid HIV test, someone can know whether or not he or she is HIV positive in less than an hour. And if the test turns out to be positive, she or he can get into care management and treatment that much faster.
Same amount of money. Same hour. Hugely different impact.
Not only does an HIV test put the person taking the test “in the know,” it also prevents the further spread of the disease by an unknowing carrier. With national statistics showing that 1 in 4 Americans with the disease don’t know they have HIV, it is as important to get an HIV test as it was 30 years ago when the first case of AIDS was diagnosed.
25% of those who have HIV don’t even know it. It’s a sobering statistic. But in this age of social media, we can all do our part to change that statistic. And that’s pretty empowering.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Text KNOW to 20222 tomorrow to donate $10 for an HIV test for someone without insurance or on the margins of society.
2. Tell others about the #knowpositive campaign on December 1. Donate your Facebook status update for the cause. RT a #knowpositive tweet. Follow the Indiana AIDS Fund.
The Indiana AIDS Fund’s goal is 500 tests in one day. Will you join me in helping them reach it?
