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The Red Ribbon Project, a nonprofit
organization of Colorado’s Eagle County, empowers the community to reduce
HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections. Red Ribbon has
built meaningful relationships with health agencies, youth-serving
organizations, and the school district. The organization team is made up of
community members and is known as “a small nonprofit that does big things.”
When the Red Ribbon Projects began
in 1996, the group offered HIV 101 to middle- and high-school youth. The course
has evolved into the Youth Skills Building Program, which is a comprehensive
life skills curriculum encouraging youth to make informed and positive
decisions. The program offers culturally and age-appropriate HIV/AIDS education
to students in grades 6 through 12. The Youth Skills Building program provides
14 classes at Eagle County middle and high schools, from which the students can
pick to enroll.
The Red Ribbon Project has also
begun a teen pregnancy prevention program, called Cuidate!, which means “take
care of yourself.” This program is aimed at Latino youth and designed to reduce
HIV sexual risks by emphasizing risk reduction strategies that support safe
decision making. The Red Ribbon project’s testing program specifically serves
high school youth and a Latino transient population living in Eagle County, as the
county’s resort economy relies on tourism and recreation.
On average, 17 babies were born to
teens in Colorado every day—about one baby born every 84 minutes. Nearly three
in 10 girls in the United States get pregnant at least once before the age of 20,
and 18 percent of Americans with HIV do not know they are infected. These
statistics make it clear that education about reproductive health should be
provided. The Red Ribbon Project educates youth about the consequences of sex,
and presents them with comprehensive education that includes information about
safe sex and abstinence.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
