First National Children with HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

The First National Children with HIV/AIDS Awareness Day will be held on the Mall near the Capitol Building in Washington, D. C., on Tuesday, June 11, 1991. This event is being spearheaded by the Sunburst National AIDS Project, an organization which sponsors a summer camp for HIV-positive children and their families. Supporting organizations include the Names Project, the U. S. Department of Maternal and Child Health, the National Education Association, the Children with AIDS Project of America, the Parents' Pediatric AIDS Coalition of California, the Children with AIDS Foundation in Boston, the AIDS Resource Foundation for Children in New Jersey, and the Minnesota AIDS Project. Newman's Own is the first corporate sponsor to offer its support.

To continue building national awareness of pediatric AIDS issues, a joint resolution is being submitted to both Houses of Congress to designate June 10-16 as Pediatric AIDS Awareness Week.

The organizers of the National Children with HIV/AIDS Awareness Day plan to educate the public about the various modes of pediatric AIDS transmission, the all-inclusive range of ethnic and social groups affected, and the ever-increasing number of babies, children, and teenagers with AIDS. They hope that this attention will influence Congress to allocate more funding for AIDS research and direct services. Finally, the Day's events will provide support to families affected by AIDS, and remembrance of children who have died from AIDS-related conditions.

The organizers are looking for professional athletes and celebrity speakers, fundraising assistance, and additional corporate sponsors. Volunteers to help in Washington on June 11 are also needed. The Sunburst AIDS Project is requesting participation of school systems throughout the country to increase awareness about children with HIV/AIDS and to support the Awareness Day; four states (California, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Tennessee) have already endorsed this program, called the Butterfly Project. Local Congressional representatives may be contacted by phone or mail to support the Pediatric AIDS Awareness Week (H. J. Resolution 91). If you would like to help in any area, or would like more information, call Sunburst National AIDS Project in Brooklyn at 718/763-8095, or in Petaluma, California, at 707/769-0169, or write to 148 Wilson Hill Road, Petaluma, CA 94952.