Take the Giving Challenge. Help us get $50,000.

The Case Foundation is awarding a total of $750,000 in grants through the America’s Giving Challenge presented by Parade and the Causes Giving Challenge presented by Causes on Facebook. Here’s your chance to champion our cause by mobilizing your network. You could help us get $50,000.

Our challenge at American Foundation for Children with AIDS is to raise money to provide Cotrimoxazole (an antibiotic) and vitamins to children affected by AIDS in Zimbabwe.

Stop by and participate in our challenge on Facebook. And don't forget to tell your friends!

Frames for a Future Auction at Ebay to Support Children with AIDS

The auction is on! Artists from around the country have decorated frames which are being auctioned off this week, from RIGHT NOW till December 7. All proceeds will go to help children with AIDS. Click here to check out the frames (a unique gift idea!) and place a bid this week.

American Foundation for Children with AIDS Holiday Tribute Cards Available

Give the gift of life this holiday season with American Foundation Children with AIDs holiday tribute cards. To view the inside and outside of the card, click here. For more information, or to place an order, call 1.888.683.8363.

World AIDS Day December 1

The theme for World AIDS Day 2007 is leadership.

Despite the promises by world leads to provide services to curb the rates of infection and to bring down the death rates, 4.3 million people were infected with HIV in 2006.

Over 25 million people have died from AIDS.

This year's goal for World AIDS is to help encourage leadership on AIDS within all levels and sectors of society.

Click here to learn more about World AIDS Day at.

$2.6 Million Worth of Medicine Sent to Help Children with AIDS

Autumn is here...again!

How quickly this year is passing by, yet how much has been done so far! To date this year, we have sent over $2.6 million worth of medicine to our children in East Africa and have also sent hygiene kits for the kids and their families, along with reinforced cereal so children can eat prior to taking their medicine.

This was all done thanks to the generosity of each of our donors, whether they are individuals, churches, grant makers, companies, or civic groups. Without each of you, we could not do what we do. We look forward to doing so much more, though! There are many children who need our help and we want to provide it.

To each of you who are a part of us, thank you. Want to find out how you can help save the lives of children with AIDS? Click here.

Shop Online to Save Lives of Children with AIDS

As the holiday season approaches, many of us are already making our gift lists and checking them twice. As you shop for the little ones you love this season, consider shopping through iGive.com. When you do, up to 26% of every purchase can be donated to help children with AIDS. Here's how:

Go to iGive.com and register for free.

Step 1: Select your cause.

You can enter the phrase "children with aids" in the keyword box, then click on American Foundation for Children with AIDS in the right-hand selections.

Step 2: Fill out your registration information.

This includes your name, zip code, and whether or not you want to take a tax deduction for your shopping donation.

Then, just shop as usual. There are no extra charges to you, yet AFCA receives a donation for every purchase made, which directly impacts the life of a child with AIDS.

From the AIDS-Ridden Slums of Kenya, a Child's Smile Brightens a Cameraman's Life

For the past six weeks, Colin Crowley (Founder and Owner of Newbeat Productions and a volunteer with AFCA) has been living on the coast of East Africa in Mombasa, Kenya.

"I have been shadowing two nurses who spend three to four hours every day walking on foot through some of the poorest slums in Mombasa to visit HIV positive patients," says Crowley.

Most patients live in one-room houses with walls made of sticks and mud, roofs made of corrugated tin, and no running water. They have no means of transportation other than their own two feet. They live day to day with no money to pay for doctors or medicines. The AFCA provides these children with life-saving medication, known as ARVs.

"Every time I meet one of the children who are alive today because of AFCA’s work, I wish everybody who has ever donated to AFCA could be there with me to see in person the life that their donation has helped saved. It is really an overpowering moment to meet, and talk, and play with a young child who is living, playing, going to school, and thriving because of the generosity of people living in another country thousands of miles away."

One of these children is two year old Abraham Ramadani, who contracted the HIV virus from his mother through childbirth. Abraham is taking ARVs provided by AFCA. He and his mother live together in a small mud-walled house in the Bangalaa Slum just outside of Mombasa.

"Every time I have seen Abraham," Crowley says, "he has been smiling, friendly, and happy to see me, even when he was suffering from a case of Malaria."


"His eyes looked heavy, he wore a pained look on his face, and I could tell he wasn’t his normal self. After I reached down to shake his hand and greet him with the Swahili greeting for children, “Mambo!” I felt the top of his forehead and it was scorching with fever."

"I took out my camera asking his mother if it was all right to take a picture of him like this and she said it was fine. When I put the camera before him, Abraham instinctively let out a laugh and made a big smile for the lens. Then he stopped and the ache of the Malaria showed on his face again. Still, he gave it another effort and, with no prompting from his mother or me, pushed out another big smile before the ache and fever caught up with him."

"“Here I am,” I thought, “standing before a two year old kid living in some of the worst conditions imaginable, HIV positive and suffering from a bout of malaria and he’s giving it his all to smile for the camera when I take a picture of him.” Moments like this just take me aback and catch me off guard. They make me forget myself and wonder how we can do more for this kids."

"A week later I ran into Abraham again and his malaria was gone, he was running around laughing as he played with one of the neighbor kids. I caught his attention by calling out his name and he ran over and stopped for about five seconds to smile and say hi – just enough time to let me snap a picture before he ran off to play again."

A child's smile can brighten a life. Abraham, and children like him, will likely brighten many more.

To learn how you can help children with AIDS and HIV in Africa, visit the AFCA website.

Help Children with AIDS Teams with GoodSearch

The American Foundation for Children with AIDS has teamed up with GoodSearch.com to raise money for kids with AIDS.

If you've been looking for a free and effortless way to help children with AIDS, this is a great way to do it.

Whenever you search for something online, search through GoodSearch.com rather than pulling up your regular search engine. The search process works the same, but each time you search through GoodSearch.com , money is generated to our organization.

Just go to GoodSearch.com, type in your search, and then type in American Foundation for Children with AIDS in the Who do you GoodSearch for box. Then click the button for Search the Web, and your results will be displayed as usual.

What a great way to raise money for a good cause just by doing what you ordinarily do throughout the day!

Frames for a Future to support Children with AIDS

The American Foundation for Children with AIDS call for artists to decorate picture frames for auction on World AIDS Day December 1, 2007 has gotten an overwhelming response. We're completely out of frames!

Artists from around the country have decorated frames for AFCA. Please be sure to check us out on eBay from December 1-7, 2007 (details forthcoming) to bid on the frames. All proceeds will go to help the kids we serve.

October is AIDS Awareness Month

We're geared up to Think Pink, but did you know that October is also AIDS Awareness Month?

With our pink ribbons pinned to our chests, we're showing the world we support the important fight against breast cancer. But as we're doing so, many of us are leaving an equally important gap above our hearts.

Make room for a red ribbon -- one that symbolizes the fight against AIDS -- especially for those children with AIDS who aren't able to fight the battle alone.

25 Million Orphaned Children with AIDS in Africa Anticipated by 2010

There are already over 12 million orphaned children with AIDS in Africa (having lost their mothers or both parents) accounting for over 80% of the total world wide. By 2010, the number of AIDS orphans is anticipated to reach 25 million, according to Save the Children "Children in a World of AIDS" 2004.

These are shocking statistics, but each child is more than a number.

Each of these orphaned children with AIDS has a name, a face, a unique story. Each child has hopes, dreams, fears.

While our young children are brainstorming what they want to be when they grow up, these AIDS orphans are simply hoping they'll have the chance to grow up.

The American Foundation for Children with AIDS currently partners with four hospitals in East Africa to provide much needed anti-retroviral and chemotherapy medications, as well as medicine to treat opportunistic diseases for children aged birth-19 who are HIV+ or who have AIDS.

We also provide medication for the parents or guardians of these children, as we do not want to create more orphans by ignoring their need for medication and medical care.

Learn how to make a donation or other ways you can help.

Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up event raised over $13,500 for Children With AIDS

Although the fight for children with AIDS is commonly thought to be an uphill battle, folks across the U.S. literally climbed to the rescue in this year's Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up event. Hikers, bikers and staircase climbers reached incredible heights to raise over $13,500 for a common goal: to save the lives of children affected by AIDS. Together, we just gave 38 children daily life-saving medicine for an entire year!

Unique Approaches to a Common Goal

With the common goal of saving lives, the climbathon participants accomplished their goals in a variety of creative and amazing ways:

A team of bikers rode 114 miles (with over 7,500 feet of vertical gain) through the Cascade Mountains. A church youth group hiked together, joined by families. A gym in NH joined forces with Mammut to host a "Free climbing day" to invite the community to help those across the world. A dedicated duo of students raised money by organizing their own mini-event at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. One man climbed 30 pitches in one day. Another man hiked up a hill with his baby on his back. A 4-year old girl hiked in her neighborhood and managed to raise more funds than any other single individual.

The stories go on and on. Every one of them is inspiring and every one of the participants accomplished something amazing: life for someone else.

Our Heartfelt Thanks

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this event such a success.

A big thank you to our sponsors: Rock and Ice Magazine, National Geographic Adventure Magazine, Mammut, Petzl, Black Diamond, rockclimbing.org, Women's Adventure Magazine, Sir and Lady Edmund Hillary, Skram Media, Solid Rock Climbers for Christ, Studio G, Terra Firma Rockchalk, Steve Nowlon, Jeremy North, Ashar Management and Consulting, CerconeBrownCurtis, Gramicci, Picture the World, and Skylimit Marketing

And a special thank you to Kenji Haroutunian for inviting us to the Outdoor Retailers Convention.

Without each one of you, we would not have had such a successful first event.

There are no words that suffice to express our gratitude. So, in the words of the children in Kenya: Asante Sana

Mark your calendars!

The American Foundation for Children with AIDS and the American Alpine Institute invite you to Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up in 2008.

Mark your calendars to hike, climb, walk, ride or to be a sponsor for our September 20 and 21, 2008 climbathon.

Visit the Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up Website for updates and news.

5 Ways Children Get Aids

It's terribly disheartening to know that children get AIDS/HIV. Many people wonder, "How do kids get AIDS?" Here are some answers:

1. The most common way children get HIV is through childbirth. A mother infected with the HIV virus can pass the virus to the child easily during the birthing process, because of the blood and mucus. Many people aren't aware that medication given to the mother before birth and to the baby immediately after birth can significantly reduce the risk of infection to the baby. Many mothers simply can't afford the medication.

2. Sometimes unborn children get HIV before birth, while growing in the uterus, where the virus is passed through the mother's blood to the baby.

3. An infant may also catch the virus by breastfeeding. Although normally breast milk is the healthiest option for babies, viruses including HIV can be transmitted by breastfeeding. Many mothers simply can't afford the option of formula feeding, causing HIV positive mothers to pass the virus on to their babies.

4. Although much less common, another way kids get HIV is via blood transfusions. Most blood used for transfusions is carefully screened, but there is always a slight chance a baby might be infected through a transfusion.

5. One of the most devastating ways some children get AIDS is by rape or sexual abuse of someone who is HIV positive. In some parts of Africa, there is an unfortunate belief that having sex with a virgin can cure HIV. Because older children and adolescents are often already sexually active (whether they are willing or not), the victims of rape are becoming younger and younger.

You can learn more at our website http://helpchildrenwithaids.org.

Welcome to the American Foundation for Children with AIDS blog

Welcome to the official blog of the American Foundation for Children with AIDS. Our mission is to help improve the lives of children with HIV/AIDS by providing cost-effective relief and services, medical and social support, as well as education and advocacy to help children living with aids in Africa to achieve their full life potential. You can visit our website (http://helpchildrenwithaids.org) to learn more about the work we do and how we meet our mission.