About the Foundation

The Staying Alive Foundation's mission is to encourage, energize, and empower young people who are involved in HIV awareness, education and prevention campaigns. To achieve this, the Foundation awards Staying Alive Grants to youth-led organizations. The grants provide the financial support, mentoring and training needed to create stable, sustainable organizations that inspire communities to get involved and ensure their future health. To date, the Staying Alive Foundation has given out 304 grants in 61 countries around the world for a total of more than $3 million.

You can read about some of the organizations we support below.

Tyler Spencer, an American college athlete, saw first-hand the potential of sports as a vehicle for education while in South Africa in 2008. Tyler planned to return to South Africa after he graduated but, back in the US, his eyes were opened to the health crisis on his own doorstep. The HIV rate in Washington, D.C., is higher than many African countries - a huge 1 in 20.

Forming Athletes United in 2009, Tyler capitalised on the role-model status that athletes enjoy among American youth. Athletes United teaches cutting-edge interactive HIV prevention classes to 12 to 14 year olds. Since the Foundation began supporting Athletes United in June 2009, Tyler's initiative has taught 1200 youth, trained 150 college athletes and high school students as knowledge coaches, and indirectly reached 6,000 individuals.

HEALDS is a group of empowered women who make it their duty to rescue young girls who are married to older men, and educate the local community about the potentially treacherous outcomes of these unions. With young and forced marriage a common problem in the Tamil Nadu district, HEALDS reaches out to young brides and their older partners with HIV prevention information. Vital to this is empowering girls with negotiation skills, and dispelling dangerous myths.

HEALDS received its first funding from the Staying Alive Foundation in December 2009. So far it has distributed thousands of condoms, trained 100 peer educators, and carried out numerous engaging plays and video shows.

In Nigeria, 2.6 million people are living with HIV, the second highest number in the world after South Africa. LeND has taken a unique approach to HIV education. It targets young people who are often left out of sexual health education - those with hearing impairment.

Inspired by her cousin's struggle with the disability, Eunice, alongside her LeND colleagues, is making sure this group of people is no longer left behind. With support from the Staying Alive Foundation, LeND is on track to give information on HIV prevention to 15,000 young people, distribute 70,000 condoms, and train 450 young peer educators to carry LeND's message and work into the wider community.

You can find out more about the Staying Alive Foundation and its work here.