Be a Consumer, Be an Activist
“We can end AIDS.”
It’s a mantra that we often repeat to ourselves at (RED) — yes, like the color. (RED)’s mission is to help end mother-to-child transmission of HIV by 2020 and, ultimately, see the virtual end of AIDS by 2030. It sounds like an impossible task, but it’s not, if everyone works together. (RED) plays a small but important part in the global effort to end AIDS by engaging the world’s biggest brands and companies to create products, events and experiences that generate money for the fight. Every penny (RED) raises goes straight to the Global Fund in support of HIV/AIDS grants providing testing, treatments, counseling and prevention services.
I started with (RED) 4 years ago in June 2013 as an intern, joining an organization that I had admired and respected since I bought my first (RED) product — a pair of (Gap)RED socks. Upon starting, I came to realize that each member of this brilliant and mighty team of 20 worked around the clock every day like a well-oiled machine, because they wanted to see an end to AIDS, for good. I knew I was among creative brains when my second day on the job took a group of us to Times Square, aiming to break a world record for “Most Vine videos in a day for a cause” (spoiler alert, the record has outlasted the platform). And since then, there have been many more adventures. I’ve been fortunate enough to work on a variety of campaigns from Carnegie Hall to the birthplace of the Cronut, engaging people along the way through shopping, dining, dancing, tweeting and more. And no matter what verb it takes to get there, the outcome remains the same: (RED)’s supporters are helping to end AIDS. It’s a tried and true model that’s worked for the past 10 years, evolving as consumer habits and trends transform.
Going into the UNLEASH Innovation Lab, and going in with a very open mind, I’m eager to meet the other talents and explore how they’re transforming the status-quo model of aid and fundraising. At (RED), we support global health efforts through a marketing and financial approach, and we rely on experts to take the lead on implementation and execution. I’ve already met with a few talents here in New York City, whose Masters degrees, PhDs and NGO start-ups have already blown me away. It’s this innovative thinking and self-motivated desire to find meaningful paths towards achieving the SDGs, that has me excited to pack my bags for Denmark.
It’s written in (RED)’s Manifesto that “Never before have our collective voices or our collective choices been so important.” So, on the eve of our departure, I offer this up to the 1000 talents from 129 countries descending upon Copenhagen this weekend — Let’s collaborate. Let’s really live up to that “Innovation” title in UNLEASH and think differently about how to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. And let’s do it all over a Danish, because why not?
