According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, 55 percent of American teenagers volunteered in 2004. Increasingly, teens are looking for ways to serve their community, either with their peers or with their families. Here is a list of ideas for teens to help the HIV/AIDS community in the Kansas City area.
• Host an information night about STDs at your school, home, or church. Good Samaritan Project (GSP) has classes that are age appropriate for teens and parents. Call Nicole at (816) 561-8784 for more information.
• Do a BUCK drive. Ask for donations of one dollar and see how many you can collect. Or go online to www.buckaids.org and donate a dollar and encourage your friends to do the same.
• Host a cleaning supply or toilet paper drive for the clients of GSP. These essentials can often be costly and can not be purchased with food stamps.
• Host a healthy food drive for the clients of GSP. Unfortunately, healthy foods are often the most expensive. For people living with HIV/AIDS, having a balanced diet is very important. Examples of good products for non-perishable food items are; wheat grain, quinoa, brown rice, pinto beans, and black beans.
• Start an AIDS Walk team with your friends. This year, AIDS Walk is on April 24th at Theis Park. Look at the website http://www.aidswalkkansascity.org/ for more details.
• Come up with your own idea to help those affected by HIV/AIDS.
• Most importantly, protect your health and encourage your friends to do the same. New HIV infections are most common in the 13-24 age group. Get educated about HIV and if you are sexually active, practice safer sex EVERY time. Don’t become another statistic.
Questions about how you can help? Contact our volunteer coordinator, Nicole Davis at ndavis@gsp-kc.org
