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Hillmen Messenger

The School Newspaper of Placer High School

Hillmen Messenger

The School Newspaper of Placer High School

Hillmen Messenger

Digital Death campaign to support Keep a Child Alive

There is an extreme and distinctive difference between living and life. Living may extend time for only another day. But life is far more than sleeping, waking and an everyday routine. Life is much more than just merely existing. Even though it would be easier, life cannot be bought in a pill or any other type of medicine. That is why the organization, Keep A Child Alive, buys more than just the pills needed to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. It also purchases the necessary nutrition, shelter, support and education to help guarantee those pills are taken correctly and efficiently. Keep A Child Alive acquires the possessions that everyone takes for granted, however, these possessions make a difference to those who are receiving them for the very first time. A bed. A roof. A ride. A book. A smile. Keep A Child Alive offers children, their families and entire communities support and a heart that loves them and lives for them.

            Keep a Child Alive (KCA) is devoted to providing life-saving AIDS treatment, care and support services to children and families that are affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India by openly involving the worldwide community in the battle against the deadly disease of AIDS. Keep A Child Alive presently finances 10 orphan care and clinical sites in countries such as India, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa.

            “AIDS is an issue and illness we face and I think that everyone in every nation should be aware of it and try to help. It is prominent in more than just one country,” explained senior Hannah Beckley.  

            December 1st was World Aids Day. This day could have meant anything from remembering someone who passed away from this disease, is currently fighting the disease or will fight against the disease in the future. The organization Keep A Child Alive has decided to take donating and supporting the cure and treatment for AIDS and their organization to the next, logical level.

            Keep A Child Alive has created the campaign titled “Digital Death” or “Digital Life Sacrifice.” Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Alicia Keyes and Lady Gaga have taken part in the campaign that began on December 1st. These celebrities made a sacrifice to stop using their twitter and facebook accounts and even film “last tweet” or “last testament” videos. The goal was to raise awareness towards the organization Keep A Child Alive and to not sign back into their accounts until $1 million dollars is raised to support the fight against AIDS. Some of these celebrities including Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian and Alicia Keyes have also shot proactive ads posing in coffins to raise more awareness for the cause.

            “AIDS is all around us. This campaign gets the message across and it makes people realize that AIDS is really happening and we need to pay attention to it,” explained senior Lorna Nelson.    

            “I think it’s an effective campaign. It’s out there and people pay attention to it,” explained senior Alyssa Waldrop.

            The event and campaign was organized and created by singer, Alicia Keyes who is also a global ambassador for the charity, KCA. Keyes explained in an interview with UK’s Daily Mail that no celebrity turned down her request to participate and take in the campaign.

            “Once I got people on the phone, and I was able to paint the concept for them, everybody was in,” she told UK’s Daily Mail.

            Leigh Blake, president and co-founder of Keep A Child Alive, added, “We’re trying to sort of make the remark: Why do we care so much about the death of one celebrity as opposed to millions and millions of people dying in the place that we’re all from?” This incisive question sets the motive and purpose from which this campaign and organization will thrive and succeed.

            The popularity of celebrities always seems to be the same generation to generation, century to century. Celebrities are role models and there are a tremendous amount of people that look up to a celebrity to such high extents. The influence celebrities have over the rest of the world is unbelievable and rising at a high rate.

            “Celebrities are more mainstream and they always have the camera on them. However, you never really realize why celebrities are celebrities,” said Waldrop. 

            Most of the celebrities chosen for the campaign are among the top people on twitter with the most followers. Lady Gaga currently holds 29 million twitter followers and 24 million fans on facebook.  In order for these celebrities to retrieve back to their accounts on twitter or facebook, their fans have to “buy back their lives” by donating money to KCA.  This campaign was much more effective through having celebrities instead of just everyday people. Celebrities affect so much as to who people are and what their lives are like. They have influence over their fans and the people that support them.

            “People care about what celebrities do even if it’s not worth caring about. AIDS affects every, single continent. Every person is a person, why should one matter more or less?” stated junior Alyssa Harben.  

            The fame that celebrities hold creates awareness not only to their fans but other people.

            “I think it’s effective because celebrities are known by the entire nation and they have the access to be able to raise awareness for causes like this. I think it’s good that they use their fame to good causes. They are respected by people and hopefully people will follow in their footsteps,” said Beckley.  

             The awareness that is made translates to knowledge about a topic, world issue or disease or an affective organization. Once people contain knowledge about an organization for an example, their eyes are opened up to a world that is less fortunate and this leads to their heart and how much they are truly affected by it. With affect comes desire to help and donate to see a change in the world, each dollar or cent at a time.

            On December 6th, KCA co-founder and President Leigh Blake proudly announced that the Digital Death campaign reached its goal of $1 million. The campaign exceeded its goal within the time frame of less then a week.

            “From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of the fans, friends and artists who stood together for this cause and saved real lives,” said Keys. “I am humbled by the outpour of support from everyone.”

            Now, all participating celebrities including Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Kim

Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Khloe

Kardashian, Lenny Kravitz, Jay Sean, Swizz Beatz, Serena Williams, The Buried Life,

Elijah Wood, Janelle Monae, Nikki Sixx, Kimberly Cole, David LaChapelle, Daphne

Guinness and Bronson Pelletier will return online now that their digital lives have been

“bought” back and the intended goal of $1 million has been collectively raised for KCA.

             “Although we never expected to raise $1 million overnight, we are completely blown away that we were able to achieve our goal in less than a week. We are moved by the many generous donations and by the amount of support we’ve received from the public,” said Blake. “Over 3,600 people have joined the fight and sacrificed their own digital lives for this important cause and we intend to continue this movement.”

            Anyone can help to Keep a child alive or to assist the fight against AIDS by going to buylife.org.

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