The Baby Shower for Global Good is an 8-hour online party that will be held on Twitter (#AMillionMoms) and in the BabyCenter Community on November 8. This cross-platform party will showcase more than 10 non-profits and companies that are helping mothers and children around the world. Organizations such as World Vision, Save the Children, Every Mother Counts, UN Foundation and more will be sharing stories, giving away prizes, and providing educational information about a variety of topics from famine to health workers to children’s health.

ONE and RED will be the featured organizations from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m ET. We’ll be discussing AIDS and our upcoming World AIDS Day campaign. So, join us! We have lots of fun ONE prize packs to give away, and we promise you’ll leave inspired for what you can do to make an impact on World AIDS Day.

Retweet, join the discussion, and invite your friends!

To follow the party, follow the #AMillionMoms hashtag, @ONECampaign, @JoinRED or sign into Tweet chat and type in the hashtag.

This summer, our group of teens from three Brooklyn neighborhoods served in the poverty-stricken South African shantytowns of Diepsloot and Soweto, helping orphaned and vulnerable children and granny-led households. While some may feel like the fight against AIDS is too big to overcome, tomorrow I plan on standing on the steps of the Brooklyn Borough Hall to turn it (RED) and help raise awareness of a very real, exciting and attainable goal in the fight against this disease: virtually eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV within five years.

This lighting marks the launch of (RED)’s campaign “An AIDS Free Generation is Due in 2015,” which includes more than 80 landmarks in more than 13 countries turning (RED). What makes this lighting ceremony particularly special and unique is that it is being led by the Journey for Change Ambassadors themselves, who range in age from 12 to 17.

And as residents of Brooklyn and citizens of the world, they will not only advocate on behalf of (RED) but will also launch the “Brooklyn Knows Project” to encourage every Brooklynite to get tested and know their status.

It is incredible to think that the first AIDS-free generation in nearly 30 years is within our reach. There is treatment that exists to reduce a mother’s chance of transmitting this disease to her child from around 40 percent to less than 1 percent. Still, global citizens, governments and businesses all have more work to do. Just half of the women who need this treatment have access today, and every day, more than 1,000 children are born with HIV.

Almost 90 percent of those children are born in Africa — the region hardest hit by this disease — and new infections have negative impacts on children’s health, their families, their communities and their opportunities. And even here at home, we still have work to do. Brooklyn is home to more than 7 percent of this country’s children who are living with HIV.

If we can ensure that all pregnant women are tested for HIV and — if found to be positive — have access to treatment to control their disease and prevent transmission to their babies, we can create an entire generation of healthy children and stronger families. I am proud to join the Journey for Change Global Ambassadors tomorrow to advocate for “An Aids Free Generation is Due in 2015.”

To learn more, watch ONE’s new PSA and help turn the world (RED) at WWW.JOINRED.COM. For more information on Journey for Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service, visit www.angelrockproject.org.

Malaak Compton-Rock is founder and director of Journey for Change: Empowering Youth Through Global Service and author of the book “If It Takes A Village, Build One: How I Found Meaning Through A Life of Service and 100+ Ways That You Can Too.

This Wednesday is World AIDS Day, and while ONE members across the country are already championing the issue, we want to send out some exciting news from our sister organization, (RED).

On Wednesday, (RED) is illuminating the world’s most iconic landmarks to raise awareness for World AIDS Day. Last year, nearly half a million babies were born with HIV — but with access to medication, a pregnant mother can stop the transmission of HIV to her child.

With continued funding to organizations like the Global Fund, the number of babies born with HIV could be zero by 2015, creating the first AIDS-free generation in 30 years.

This World AIDS Day, cities around the world will cast red light on their most distinctive landmarks. From the Sydney Opera House to Paris’ City Hall and Fountains, from the London Eye to Cape Town’s Table Mountain, from Niagara Falls to the Seattle Space Needle, the world will turn (RED) to highlight one goal — we can have a world where virtually no child is born with HIV by 2015.

We’re asking people to meet up at their local landmark to watch and discuss how we can help create the first AIDS-free generation. Go to Meetup.com to find an event near you, and if you can’t find an existing meet-up to join, you can always create your own and help put your city on the map!

Check out our full list of participating cities across the globe below –- and no matter where you are this World AIDS Day, we hope to see you there! Read more about this spectacular event on (RED)’s blog.

United States:

California
o Long Beach (Convention Center, Hyatt (Wall), Shoreline Square, Terrace Theater Fountains, Promenade, Gazebo at Shoreline Drive, Light House, Renaissance (Wall Tree), Pine Street)
o Los Angeles (Pylons at LAX)
o Oakland (City Hall)
o San Francisco (City Hall)

Colorado
o Steamboat Springs (Old Routt County Courthouse)

Florida
o Miami (Miami Tower, Old City Hall, MOCA Plaza)
o Orlando (the Amway Center Tower)

Georgia
o Atlanta (City Hall, Georgia World Congress Center-International Plaza Towers, Georgia Dome, Centennial Olympic Park, World of Coca Cola)

Illinois
o Chicago (Wrigley Building-top of the building & tower)
o Schaumburg (Town Square Clock Tower)
o Urbana

Maryland
o Baltimore (Washington Monument in Baltimore)

Massachusetts
o Boston (Zakim Bridge)

Missouri
o St. Louis (Civil Courts Building)

Nevada
o Las Vegas (MEET Las Vegas venue & Lou Ruvo Center (Frank Gehry’s Keep Memory Alive Building))

New Mexico
o Santa Fe

New York
o Brooklyn (Brooklyn Borough Hall)
o New York (Empire State Building, The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, JFK Control Tower, New York Stock Exchange)
o Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls)

Ohio
o Cincinnati (Museum Center (formerly the Union Terminal) and Fountain Square)
o Cleveland (The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)
o Columbus (City Hall & Columbus Public Health Building)

Oregon
o Portland (Morrison Bridge)

Pennsylvania
o Philadelphia (Boat House Row)
o Pittsburgh (the needle on the Highmark Building)

Rhode Island
o Providence (City Hall, 1 Financial Plaza, 111 Westminster Street (Bank of America Building), Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building, Bank of America City Center, the State House, GTech Building, the Biltmore Hotel)

South Carolina
o Greenville (Furman University Bell Tower)

Texas
o Fort Worth (Lancaster Ave lights)
o Houston (City Hall)

Tennessee
o Nashville (the Courthouse & Deaderick Street)

Utah
o Salt Lake City (City & County Building)

Virginia
o Richmond (Richmond Center Stage)

Washington
o Seattle (The Space Needle)
o Tacoma (Murray Morgan Bridge)

Australia
o Sydney (Sydney Opera House & Sydney Harbour Bridge)

Bermuda
o Hamilton (City Hall)

Brazil
o Nova Prata (City Hall)

Canada
o Toronto (CN Tower & City Hall)

France
o Paris (City Hall & Fountains)

Ireland
o Dublin (Convention Center, City Hall)

Netherlands
o Amsterdam (Paradiso)

South Africa
o Cape Town (Table Mountain)

Spain
o Madrid (Puerta de Alcala)

Switzerland
o Geneva (Le Phare des Paquis)

United Kingdom
o England
• London (London Eye, BT Tower, Trafalgar Square Fountain, Alexandra Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral)
• Manchester (Manchester Town Hall, The Wheel of Manchester, Spinningfields Ice Rink)
o Scotland
• Glasgow (The Glasgow Science Center)

In this month’s issue of Glamour magazine, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, our sister organization (RED) and the GAVI Alliance were mentioned in the article, “31 Days of Giving: Easy moves to make the world a better place.” The piece also features a number of ONE partner organizations, including Partners in Health, Water.org, OXFAM and Heifer International. As we enter into the busy holiday season, check it out — it’s in newsstands now!

On Wednesday, ONE lost a friend and an inspiration.

Many of us on the ONE staff were fortunate to know Vida, a Ghanaian girl living just a short drive from Accra, in Tema.

When I saw Vida three weeks ago, she and her father showed me her straight-A report card from school. She was a smart, talented and spirited person. You didn’t need a report card to know that, but it was a physical affirmation of her delight in learning and her hope for the future. Her dream was to someday be a bank manager at the Bank of Ghana, and of course, to buy her very own car.

We were concerned for her, though, because she wasn’t looking so good. It seemed she was missing some of her usual spunk.

Vida was born with HIV. She had been taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) for several years. Since her mother died of HIV, Vida was raised by her father, who is also HIV-positive. She couldn’t start school until she was 9 years old because of complications from AIDS. But once she started ART, she got into school and quickly found she loved it -– especially science –- and excelled in most all of her classes.

During the past few years, Vida has been a friend to and spokesperson for ONE and our sister organization, (RED).

The clinic Vida went to for medical care, including ART, is at the Tema General Hospital. This clinic is run by Dr. Patricia, who is also a friend of ONE and many of our staff. Last week, Vida was admitted to the Tema General Hospital, and placed on antibiotics for a dental abscess but –- having just recently been through a battle with pneumonia –- she was simply unable to beat another strong infection. Yesterday, Dr. Patricia let us know that Vida died on Wednesday.

With your help, ONE has long been advocating for the resources to support programs like the Global Fund and PEPFAR that provide drugs to prevent to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. We often talk about the 1,000 children per day that are still born with HIV, but those numbers are sterile and can’t reflect the vibrant reality of Vida. We will all miss her.

But, just as Vida was a voice for the efforts of ONE and (RED), it is our pledge to be Vida’s ongoing voice in this absolutely winnable battle against mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

I — along with many of my colleagues at ONE — was shocked and saddened to learn that Bwalya Liteta — the 12-year-old girl featured in the recent HBO documentary “The Lazarus Effect” — passed away on August 14th.

As many of you may have seen from our sister organization (RED)‘s website, Bwalya was an HIV-positive child who had lost both her parents. (RED) first met her in May 2009 and filmed her recovery from near death to robust health with the help of antiretroviral treatment (ARVs).

Everyone who met her in the filming process was inspired by her quiet determination, and many of us at ONE felt personally compelled by the simple joy she exuded as she was finally feeling better and able to return to school with her friends.

“The Lazarus Effect” highlighted the miracle of antiretroviral drugs in restoring the health of people living with HIV/AIDS. But even when treated, AIDS can be a physically devastating disease — especially for young children.

This year, we’ve been campaigning for the full replenishment of the Global Fund. If fully funded, the Global Fund — along with other bilateral AIDS efforts — can ensure that no child is born with HIV by 2015 and make certain that little girls like Bwalya never need to become infected in the first place.

Her story should compel us — including world leaders — to be bold in our efforts to make this goal achievable.

Bwalya’s story is also compelling because it is not just a story about HIV — it’s a story about the importance of comprehensive global health policy. Although a final autopsy was not conducted, we know that Bwalya had been battling complications from AIDS, and ultimately died from heart failure.

We often talk about “health systems strengthening”– an admittedly vague term. But in her home country of Zambia, health infrastructure (hospitals, clinics, medical technology, clean water, etc) is generally weak, and there are very few heart specialists in the entire country. When the infrastructure is not in place or is not readily accessible in emergencies, it makes tragic cases like Bwalya’s death all the more common.

Bwalya’s story, which is constantly replicated in the lives of so many others who are not in the spotlight, means that the development community and recipient governments need to do even better to ensure that global health efforts are integrated, comprehensive and sustainable for those who need it the most.

An HIV-positive pregnant woman shouldn’t need to go to three separate clinics for antiretroviral drugs to ensure that she doesn’t transmit the virus to her child, anti-malarial medication and supplements to ward off infections, and someone who can help her in delivery if she faces complications.

Doing so requires strengthened partnership and communication between policymakers, practitioners, host governments and community leaders in the years ahead.

Our thoughts are with Bwalya’s family and all those who knew her. Please feel free to leave your own remarks in the comments section if you have seen the film or have been touched by her story.

Please take a moment of silence to honor Bwalya and read (RED)’s blog post.

This month, we’ve been focusing a lot of our efforts on telling President Obama to support the world’s largest health financier, the Global Fund, to help end HIV/AIDS by 2015 once and for all.

That’s why we’re super excited to help spread the word about our sister organization (RED)’s latest effort: Gap’s Give and Get promotion. If you’re planning on going back-to-school shopping or updating your wardrobe with winter-weather wear, you can save 30 percent off any purchase at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy between August 26 and 29. But here’s the best part – 5 percent of that goes to the Global Fund.

So, what does that mean? You get to give a little and save a little. Keep an eye out for Gap’s coupon on (RED)’s Twitter and Facebook pages. But don’t forget to tell President Obama to give his share to the Global Fund, too!

Across the United States, ONE groups have united to spread the word of The Lazarus Effect, screening it to the public. On June 16th, ONE members in Missouri’s 9th District watched the film at our volunteer meet-up in Columbia. It was a big success.

“The film was heartbreaking, yet encouraging. It is amazing to see what the ARVs can do. Giving hope to the hopeless is so beautiful,” ONE member, Molly McCormick said after the Columbia screening.

During a discussion after the film, ONE member Lindsay Carlin stated, “I thought it was incredible to see the before and after pictures of people who took the ARVs. For just 40 cents a day it drastically improved their lives!”

You can watch The Lazarus Effect for free right now, here.

-Tyler Sangermano, Congressional District Leader Missouri’s 9th District

Check it out and let us know what you think: