Wondering how you might be able to help? Here are several suggestions, all according to your own time budget. If you have:

An Hour

• Educate yourself.
  Learn more about HIV, abuse, and programs that interest you by researching online or visiting your school or local library.
• "Pass On the Gift."
  Donate money to buy cows, sheep, rabbits, honeybees, ducks, and other animals to help hungry communities throughout the world feed and educate themselves. Heifer.org tells you how you can donate, and other ways you can volunteer for Heifer International programs if you want to do more.
• Share information.
  Use the discussion questions at the back of this book and your research to talk about the tough issues you read about in this book. The more you talk, the faster stigmas will dissolve.

An Hour a Week

• Volunteer.
  Stop by or call your city hall or municipal building and find out if there's a volunteer network from which you can learn more about local projects.
• Become a mentor.
  Go to a community center nearby to find out if it has a program for younger kids who need older role models and friends. Or become a Big Brother or Big Sister at www.bbbs.org.
• Teach a skill.
  Use your talents and interests by coaching a sport, sharing your culture, reading a book aloud to someone, teaching music, or leading an arts and crafts project in your community.
• Tutor a student.
  Contact your local board of education to find out if there is a volunteer tutor coordinator for your district. Or call a school directly and ask how you can help a child.
• Provide support and counseling.
  Volunteer for an HIV/AIDS or abuse hotline. You'll have to go through some training, but after that's over you'll probably have to commit to only a few hours each month.

A Day

• Observe World AIDS Day on December 1.
  Talk to a person in charge and organize an event at your school, place of worship, or community center. Find themes, toolkits, posters, and other resources at: www.worldaidscampaign.info and www.omhrc.gov/hivaidsobservances/world/

A Month

• Organize donation drives.
  Contact a local shelter, hospital, school, or place of worship about organizations in the area that accept donations for those in need. Then get permission to start collecting. You might consider these ideas:
  • An October coat and blanket drive
  • A November canned food drive to help feed families who otherwise would not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving
  • A December gift drive for the holidays
  • An any-time-of-year drive for the basics: toiletries, diapers, and simple health-care supplies

A Summer

• Make travel count.
  Talk to your parents or caregivers about giving back during your school breaks and take a trip that's fun and fulfilling. Find a community service opportunity in another part of the world. Here are some suggestions on where to start:
  • Academic Treks (www.academictreks.com)
  • Lifeworks (www.lifeworks-international.org)
  • World School (www.worldschoolinc.org)
  • Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org)
  • See if your house of worship is organizing any trips to work in another part of the country or world.

An Hour

• Sponsor a class.
  Help out in an elementary school classroom. Organize a group to visit the students, raise money for supplies, or donate books to the room.
• Join Key Club.
  The world's largest student-led organization asks members to commit to fifty hours of community service. If your school doesn't have a Key Club, start one. To find out how, log on to www.keyclub.org.
• Write to a pen pal.
  Ask your teacher about exchanging letters or emails with students in a class in another country. This is a great way to meet new people in new places and find out more about their cultures, their countries, and their eeds. And you make great friends.