Eleven Year Old Puts Us To Shame With Her World AIDS Day Fundraising
Posted: 30th Dec 2009 Author: Michelle Penny Topics: Charity
We bet you’ve said more than once that you’d like to do something to raise a bit of money for Worlds AIDS Day, but have you ever done anything?
No? Well don’t feel too bad, most of the people we’ve spoken to have thought the exact same thing but never got round to it. However one person who is sure to have you feeling guilty is Shannon Roux of Sandy Springs, GA, who at the age of eleven wasn’t willing to just let the day past.
Deciding that she wanted to do something to help increased awareness of AIDS , Shannon got together with her friends at Charlie’s Port, a local performing arts organization, and Riverwood International Charter High School, and under the guidance of Charlie’s Port Artistic Director Mary Claire Dunn, helped design and create a red World AIDS Day Charlie’s Port t-shirt.
Now getting to that point would be impressive enough for most of us, but not for Shannon and her friends. They instead went on to sell the tee to over 400 people, and then on World AIDS Day on the 1st December got everyone who and bought one to go to the football field of Riverwood International Charter High School wearing it. Once there they then all gathered together to form a living red AIDS ribbon to spread a very important and visual message that the issue of AIDS cannot be ignored.
Raising $1000 from the t-shirt sales for the Elton John AIDS Foundation this definitely won’t be the biggest donation the charity will ever see, but what Shannon did proves that’s not what it’s all about. It’s about showing that if you put your mind to it you really can make a difference, and not just in a monetary sense as we’re pretty sure that it’s going to be something eleven year old Shannon, and everyone involved, is going remember this project for a long time to come, and with that will come a continual reminder of the need to increase awareness about AIDS.
