OutreachMagazine.com: December 1: World AIDS Day

December 1: World AIDS Day
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Outreach Magazine on 03/15/2010

Three ways to reach out to HIV/AIDS sufferers and their families

Engage in the fight against AIDS in your own neighborhood and invite others in
your community to join you. Here’s how:
RAISE AWARENESS
—Use World AIDS Day to raise healthy awareness within your congregation about
the local and global impact of AIDS by hosting a simple informational night.
—Invite a guest speaker—a caregiver or someone infected with HIV/AIDS. After
the speaker finishes sharing, have a moderated question-and-answer discussion.
—Provide attendees informational brochures and fliers.
RESPOND LOCALLY
—Identify opportunities to help those suffering from HIV and AIDS, including
volunteering at a meal service, food bank, hospice or clinic. Contact local
health services officials, hospitals or AIDS support groups to find ways to
help.
—Adopt a local HIV/AIDS shelter. Identify where the shelter could use your
church’s’ help. For example, offer to have quarterly service days on which
volunteers make necessary repairs and maintain the grounds at the shelter.
RESPOND GLOBALLY
—Partner with relief organizations like World Vision or Compassion
International to help people with AIDS and their children around the world.
These ideas first appeared in Outreach magazine, September/October 2007. Post a
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