What keeps us moving

THE ELIZABETH GLASER PEDIATRIC AIDS FOUNDATION

In the 20 years since it was established, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation has become a worldwide leader in the fight against pediatric AIDS. Each year, DM participants fundraise to help further the cause of this wonderful organization.

This year some of those individuals whose lives are touched by our cause, our ambassadors, will be at Berkeley DM!

Pediatric AIDS severely affects the lives of millions of children, approximately 6 percent of the total number of people living with HIV in the United States and worldwide.

Every hour, around 31 children die as a result of AIDS. In 2007, an estimated 270,000 children died of AIDS-related illnesses. An observed 35% of children with HIV die by the time they are one year old, 50% die by age two and 60% die by age three.

Among children under 15 years of age, more than 1,000 are infected with the HIV virus each day, most as a result of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), including pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.

Improved treatments are inaccessible to a majority of the 95% of infected children living in resource-poor nations and there continues to be an unlevel playing field for children in regards to the HIV/AIDS research agenda.

The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation seeks to prevent pediatric HIV infection and eradicate pediatric AIDS through research, advocacy, prevention and treatment programs. The Foundation currently works in 17 countries and more than 3,900 sites worldwide.

To help fight pediatric AIDS, please consider making a donation.

The story behind Elizabeth Glaser

In 1981, Elizabeth Glaser contracted the AIDS virus through a blood transfusion in 1981 while giving birth to her daughter, Ariel. Elizabeth later learned that she had unknowingly passed the virus on to Ariel through breast milk and that her son, Jake, had contracted the virus in utero.

The Glasers discovered, in the course of trying to treat Ariel, that drug companies and health agencies had no idea that HIV/AIDS was prevalent among children. The only drugs on the market were for adults, meaning that there was no medical treatment for the infection that was quickly destroying Ariel's life.

Ariel lost her battle with AIDS in 1988. Fully aware that Jake's life was also in danger, Elizabeth approached her close friends for help in creating a foundation that would serve to raise money for basic HIV/AIDS research. The Foundation had one critical mission: to bring hope to children with AIDS. Few researchers were focusing on issues specific to pediatric HIV/AIDS, there were no drugs available for children, and the infection rate was rapidly rising. Elizabeth sought to change that.

Today, the Glaser Foundation is the leading organization of its kind, both in conducting and funding pediatric HIV/AIDS research. DM is part of the “Generation Free Campaign,” which empowers young people to join the Foundation’s efforts to eradicate the pediatric AIDS pandemic globally and ultimately generate a generation free of HIV.

To learn more, please visit the Foundation’s website at www.pedaids.org

Berkeley Dance Marathon (DM) is an annual campus-wide event that brings students and the community together for a fun-filled night in the fight against Pediatric AIDS. An entirely non-profit, student-run enterprise, Berkeley DM has raised upwards of $80,000 for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation since its founding in 2006. Consisting of 12 consecutive hours of dancing, over 700 participants, live entertainment, themed activities, free food and exciting contests and prizes, Dance Marathon is unlike any other event on campus.

DANCE MARATHON

Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC)
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94704