On behalf of
HIVictorious, our Board of Directors and
volunteers for our organization, we extend our sincere and heartfelt thanks for
supporting our efforts in the fight against AIDS. Our great focus is on youth HIV/AIDS education,
prevention and awareness. However, our reach expands to prisons,
universities and community centers. We are deeply committed to the fight against AIDS in Wisconsin and
throughout the United States. To learn more about our youth
HIV/AIDS awareness
poster contest in high schools, please visit:
www.whatifitwereyou.org
HIVictorious, Inc. extends our sincere appreciation to the Mental
Health Center of Dane County for their generous support of our
efforts in providing youth HIV/AIDS education, prevention and awareness in Madison, Wisconsin
and beyond.
The mission of the
Mental Health Center of Dane County,
Inc. is to provide individuals and families with high quality,
community based, recovery oriented, mental health, substance abuse,
and advocacy services that respect cultural differences and foster
hope, strength, and self determination. We will give priority to
individuals and families with high needs and low resources.
HIVictorious is
grateful to A&U Magazine for featuring our youth HIV/AIDS poster
contest, "What if it Were You?"
Student groups recognize World AIDS
Day with speeches, artwork
Photo: Kathryn
Weenig/The Daily
Cardinal
Thank you to Sex Out
Loud and the Campus Women's
Center for the honor of speaking at UW-Madison on World AIDS Day
Click here to read the article
Did you know that in the U.S. more than one
million people are living with HIV? And more than 500,000 of those are Black
Americans. It doesn’t have to be this way. Know the facts. Get your questions
about HIV/AIDS answered
here
Bob Bowers after
speaking on HIV/AIDS at La Follette High School in Madison, WI
Congratulations to
Phin Ter Thao, our grand prize winner for round 4 of our youth
HIV/AIDS poster contest. Phin Ter is from
Memorial High School in Madison, Wisconsin. You can learn more about
our awareness efforts at:
www.whatifitwereyou.org
HIVictorious extends our heartfelt
thanks to Hathaway Dilba and Madison's WomenAde! We are
deeply grateful for your incredible show of generosity and support!
HIVictorious
strives to prevent the spread
of HIV/AIDS in Wisconsin
and throughout the United
States through education,
advocacy, and community
mobilization.
.............................
"Bob
Bowers is a
passionate activist
and educator.
As someone who
has lived with
AIDS for over
20 years, Bob
is not just
a survivor.
He works passionately
to fight complacency
and improve
the lives of
those around
him. His commitment
to teaching
young people
about the importance
of healthy choices
in their lives,
and his advocacy
of quality health
care for those
living with
AIDS, are just
two examples
of his numerous
good works."
Youth
HIV/AIDS educator
Bob Bowers
also known as "Da
Pirate," is a 27-year thriving survivor of HIV/AIDS. To broaden his message of prevention through education,
survival, hope and compassion, he founded HIVictorious, Inc., which is based in
Madison, Wisconsin. He is a powerful and motivating speaker that reaches out to a large array of diverse
audiences. He is a tireless and passionate advocate helping to shape
HIV/AIDS policy. He is also active in fund-raising events, camps for youth affected or
infected by HIV, guest-speaking engagements at colleges, jails, community organizations,
and high schools and middle schools.
Mr. Bowers and friends are
truly dedicated to making a lasting difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as
well as addressing AIDS stigma and other social issues. You can watch the below
YouTube or
click here to learn more about Bob and HIVictorious
YouTube
featuring Bob
Bowers,
our Founder
and President on
Channel 27's "People Making a Difference"
.......................................
Thank YOU sir, you are a real inspiration to
high school students such as myself.
~ Markí
I still remember you coming in 2 years ago to
my freshman health class and how you changed my view of HIV/AIDS
~ Amanda
I think its great with the odds you've faced &
endured you can still be this phenomenal conduit of love and light.
Young people aged between 15 and 24
account for 45% of all new HIV infections worldwide - yet only 19%
of females and 30% of males aged between 15 and 24 have
comprehensive knowledge about HIV and how to avoid transmission. (UNAIDS
2008)
In 2006 a shocking 86% of females
diagnosed between the ages of 13 and 19 were infected via
heterosexual intercourse.
Youth in Wisconsin made up 22% of new HIV
infections in 2008
.......................................
THE
DOCUMENTARY CHANNEL®
SLATES EXCLUSIVE NETWORK PREMIERE OF POWERFUL AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED “THE FIRE
WITHIN,” AN EYE-OPENING LOOK ABOUT SURVIVING AIDS
Premiered June 6, 2010 - Airs next on May 14, 2011
HIVictorious,
Inc.
extends
our
sincere
appreciation
to the
AIDS
Resource
Center
of
Wisconsin
for
their
generous
support
of our
efforts
to
provide
youth
HIV/AIDS
prevention
through
education
in
Wisconsin
and the
United
States
ARCW is among the largest and most comprehensive AIDS service agencies in the country. We provide a vast array of health and social services to over 3,000 Wisconsin residents living with HIV disease. Through a wide variety of aggressive AIDS prevention programs, we make over 150,000 prevention contacts every year with people who are at risk for contracting HIV.
.......................................
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz honors
Memorial High School's, Kenzie Keith-Drake and Phin Ter Thao,
for their winning
HIV/AIDS awareness posters Congratulations,
Kenzie and Phin Ter!
Dear
Friends,
Bob Bowers' work in Madison high schools to
raise awareness about
HIV has been very important to our community. Bob puts a human face
on the issue and he inspires all of us to think about how this
challenge can be overcome, not how it might overcome us. And I have
no doubt that by raising awareness he has saved lives. I'm so
impressed with this work that I proudly hang the winners of his
annual
What if it were you? poster contest in my office to remind me
of this issue every day.
Madison Mayor
Dave Cieslewicz
Thank you
Mayor Dave for supporting
the
fight against HIV/AIDS in Madison, Wisconsin!
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz honors
Edgewood High School's, Natalie Walsh and John Morikis,
for their winning
HIV/AIDS awareness posters Congratulations,
Natalie and John!
.............................
CDC estimates that there are approximately
19 million new cases of
STDs each year in the United
States, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24. Here
is a wonderful resource from MTV, Kaiser Family Foundation, and
others... Please share the site!
It's Your Sex Life (IYSL)
- Get Yourself Tested (GYT)
.............................
Hepatitis B and C affect 5 million
people in the United States and cause 15,000 deaths per year. An
estimated 25-30% of people with HIV also have hepatitis C.
Edgewood High School has had the privilege of having Bob Bowers come and speak to numerous classes over the last few years. He is an inspiration to the students and is able to relate to the teenage audience in a way that few speakers can. To know the impact that Bob has on his audience, it is best to read what a few of my students wrote after Bob spoke to them recently: "Bob Bowers is such a powerful speaker...he opened my eyes to this horrible disease and made me want to get involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS. It worked on me...I am doing the AIDS Walk!" Another wrote: "He taught me so many important messages, one being that even though I don't have AIDS, we can't forget about it. He let me know that I can make a difference in the fight against AIDS." And finally one student simply said: "...he really talks from the heart!" Without a doubt my high school is blessed to have a resource like Bob Bowers.
Wade DallaGrana
Edgewood High School
These AIDS awareness posters
were done by Edgewood High School students. Winners were announced
on World AIDS Day
Click the banner to
view larger images of the posters
HIVictorious
is extremely honored to have partnered with Papi, Inc. for the Macy's Passport
Event. We are grateful for their support of our
youth HIV/AIDS poster contest, "What if
it Were You?" Papi is an
advocate for HIV/AIDS research, care, prevention and
education programs in communities around the country.
For the past 26 years Passport has raised more than $27
million for HIV/AIDS research, care, prevention and
education programs.
Bob
Bowers honors Edgewood High School's John Morikis for his
winning entry for round four of "What if it Were
You?" John's message, "I would fight with hope."
Congratulations, John!
Thank you to Wisconsin's Greater Milwaukee
Foundation's Johnson and Pabst LGBT Humanity Fund and PAPI Inc., for their ongoing generosity in support of our
efforts in the
fight against AIDS.
Thank you so much for coming to our College. Everyone
that I have spoken with has had nothing but
positive things to say about your talk. You
really touched a lot of people. Students liked the fact
that you applied your idea of "compassion" to a
much broader view of the world. I'm so happy that
you decided to come speak even though you were not
feeling well. You put a human face to
AIDS/HIV...you
were candid, you were real, you were appealing...and the
students could relate with you. So often, it
seems, AIDS/HIV is masked with clinical jargon and the
people are forgotten. Your efforts continuously help
break this misconception. Thank you. The day after you
spoke we were very busy with the free std
testing. Literally hundreds of people showed up to be
tested. I would like to think that your talk helped
convince people to show up and not be ashamed
or embarrassed. All in all, the week was a fantastic
success. We are working on some education literature for
this coming week that will recap on the week before.
This way we can really send home the message on
awareness. I would not be surprised if students next
year contact you to have you come back and speak again.
Keep on fighting and I wish you the best...as does Beloit College.
Sincerely,
Philip Mangis-Beloit College
I was
lucky enough to have Bob visit and speak with my high schoolers in
Wisconsin. His direct and compassionate approach to HIV awareness
and education are an amazing thing to witness.
~ Maggie Rapp Boggess
I
just wanted to
say...THANK YOU :)...for coming to speak with my school (Sennett
Middle School), I appreciated the time and effort you put into
talking to us about HIV/AIDS awareness, Your story truly touched me,
and you're a blessing to all of us :)
Thank you to La Follette High School for their
tireless support of our efforts!
Youth HIV/AIDS
education at La Follette High
School in Madison, Wisconsin
Education and awareness of HIV/AIDS
are vital for our youth who have never known
a World
without HIV/AIDS
Sadly, every hour of every day two young adults under the age of 25
are infected
with HIV. Youth deserve the truth!
Thanks once again for coming back to talk with our medical
students! It was heartwarming to hear the Camp
Heartland stories, and I'm hopeful that you have inspired
some of our students to consider volunteering for this
amazing organization! Your commitment to
education, improving awareness, and
addressing the broader social, political and policy issues
surrounding
HIV/AIDS is beyond admirable. We are all
very fortunate that you have chosen to spend your time and
energies doing this important work.
I look forward to seeing you soon,
Love,
Sharon
.......................................
.........................
"We
are not lepers or indispensable; we are
brothers, sister, sons, daughters, parents,
and yes, even grandparents who for one reason
or another were infected with the
AIDS virus.
The "H" in
HIV stands for Human. If we can
unite to end
AIDS, we will hopefully put
right many other divisions that face us
as a world."
~
Bob
Bowers-Founder and President
Bob
you are truly an amazing man and I am forever grateful that I met you. I look
forward to keeping in touch and that way I can share the work I am doing and
maybe I can help fight this fight with you!
~
Malynnda
Bob,
I just love how you came, and by the looks of it, conquered
the school in more ways than one. :-) Your shocking, yet down-to-earth way of
presenting really hit home. You have made a lasting impression, and have
encouraged several to join you in your fight in
HIV awareness and education.
Thank you for opening yourself to our students and staff.
In
memory of our 25 million brothers and sisters that have
lost their lives to AIDS.
In honor of the 33 million that are courageously
living with
HIV/AIDS.
