Stop HIV in the South

Here are a few more entries in the Tagline Challenge:

Don't Be Condumb! (Bob Muller)

Got Condoms? (Anonymous)

Ensure His Redwood is Deadwood (Le Redneque strikes again!)

Help me come up with a good tagline for this fundraiser or others like it!

Learn about the challenge, prizes, etc. here.

Enter the contest by emailing your entries to kivi@ecoscribe.com with TAGLINE in the subject.

Entries from "Le Redneque" - Let's say he's one of those East Coast liberal elites with some solid Southern roots!

Tie Up the Mule – Saran-Wrap Your Tool
Cloak His Oak
Mess Around Without Any Mess
Help Hicks Cover Their Sticks
Put Plastic Bling on His King
Stop His Rod Jihad

With Liberty and Condoms for All (anonymous)
Rubbers for Rednecks (anonymous)

Did you know that HIV infections are rising dramatically in the South, even as they drop elsewhere in the U.S.?

I recently joined the board of directors of the Positive Wellness Alliance, a nonprofit that helps people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS in four mostly rural counties in North Carolina.

When I asked our executive director Julie what I could do to help stop the spread of HIV, she said "Raise money to buy condoms." Julie wants to be able to give free condoms to anyone who stops by the office, but grant money won't buy them.

In small towns like the one I live in, teen boys are afraid to shop for condoms because their moms might find out (you run into people you know everywhere in rural America).

Teen girls are afraid to shop for condoms because someone might see and then tell everyone that they are sluts.

And poor people have more pressing purchases like food and gas to worry about.

This is where you come in. Help me raise $500 so we can keep the condom basket at the front door of the PWA office full. People can pop in, grab a few,and pop out, no questions asked.

Whatever the cause, the rise in HIV in the South is real. You and I can do something about it. Please give $10.

Want more facts?

According to the Southern AIDS Coalition, half of all U.S. AIDS deaths in 2005 were in the South, and more than half of all Americans with HIV lived in the region in 2006. More than 40% of new infections are in the South. The report is based on data from the CDC, state health departments, and academic researchers.