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What is email marketing? Basically, in plain English, email marketing is a targeted mass mailing done via email. The purpose of email marketing could be advertising in order to recruit new clients, introducing a new set of products or services to an existing client base, keeping your clients informed by means of a newsletter, etc. All of the before mentioned activities are very legitimate business efforts, as long as you respect some unwritten rules and as long as the list of emails you use is what is called 'targeted', in other words the names came from a database generated by your marketing division and represents your existing client base, a carefully selected list of potential prospects or a list of people who opted in to receive your messages. If instead of the above you use a list that you bought (you know, "25 million guaranteed AOL email addresses for only 19.95 - plus shipping"), or are doing it without warning the people on your list, or using other shady methods, then you are considered a spammer and what you are sending is spam, bulk mail, unsolicited email, basically, the main enemy of all things virtue and life in general. Yes folks, it is that easy to be labeled as a spammer, and very hard to get out of it. Once your message is considered unsolicited, you will immediately be put on zillions of black lists, side by side with those who promise inches and inches of extra extremities and hours and hours of ecstatic pleasures (for only 3 easy payments and some handling fees). Sound pretty risky, so why bother? Obviously, opt-in email advertising is far more cost effective than direct marketing via regular mail, door-to-door sales, or telemarketing. Paper, printing, envelopes, and postage can add up quickly. Door to door sales require paying out commissions. Telemarketing results in high long distance bills, often without great results, as people become more and more blood thirsty toward the people on the other end of the so called cold call. So why not just use my personal email or my company's mail server and some mailing software? In the early days of email marketing (that is, before the art of penile enlargement was crafted), that's exactly what people did. They would gather all their emails into some primitive version of a spreadsheet, fire up some mail merging program, hook it up to their corporate mail system and voila, thousands of emails were flying away. Today, the scenario is certainly possible, but let me tell you in a simple set of scenarios what can happen: One of the many not-for-profit groups that decided to police the internet will intercept that a large number of emails were generated and sent by a server near you (yep, they can do that). In order to protect the civilized world from those who spread spam, viruses and other vermin, they will put you on a list of threats to humanity. Those other nice corporate folks who were your indented recipients, have an IT department that gets constantly yelled at by angry users who get emails with naked people. Well - Mel, their IT guy decides to put up an anti-spam system that links to that not-for-profit's database of known spammers (oh yeah, did I mention you are now a 'known spammer'?) and block your emails. Your emails might actually be blocked so well that your company will have a real trouble communicating via email and your IT folks will all go nuts and/or get fired. Basically, not so good. Other things that can happen are: you'll have to build some opt-in / opt-out system, in some states there are laws that require that you make it very easy for your audience to unsubscribe, you'll have a hard time formatting your emails in a decent, eye pleasing way, etc. Lastly, the process of sending thousands of emails and managing lists, subscribing and unsubscribing people is tedious and just plain annoying. The only way to do it is with a maximum degree of automation, or, the better solution - to outsource to a company that does it professionally. Folks, I am known for promoting the "do it in house" concept, and am not that big on outsourcing. But when it comes to mass mailing... I say stay away from it and let the professionals do what they do. If you are worried about cost, know that the fee you pay for email marketing services, will still cost less than the continued overhead and expenses of the traditional options, not to mention the great possibilities of reaching a much larger audience, much faster (practically instantly). What to look for in an email marketing company? 1. Automating Your Subscribe and Unsubscribe Requests Many email marketing companies will provide you with exact HTML code you need to paste to your site to have a subscription form on your web site. The better services also provide a link at the bottom of each email that enables subscribers to update their information or unsubscribe from a list, automating everything for you. 2. Personalization of Emails Another powerful feature of many email marketing services is the ability to use mail merge capabilities to personalize each email that you send. The better services allow to have custom fields, additional to the standard first name and last name. 3. Bounceback email handling Bouncebacks are emails that are sent to email accounts that no longer exist or are full, blocked, etc. Essentially, you'll get a response stating that your message did not make it. All email list management software programs are able to manage subscribe and unsubscribe requests and send out messages, however without integrated bounceback email handling all the non-deliverable emails will be sent back to you, a rather big nuisance if your list is large. Ideally, the email software you use will be able to manage your bouncebacks for you. Whenever a bounceback is received, the software makes a note of the address and if another bounceback is received the email address will be sent to a list of dead addresses. This remove capability is extremely important since if you continuously send out emails with many bouncebacks you may be blacklisted as a spammer. This is something you really want to avoid at all cost. 4. HTML email The ability to send out HTML emails has been around for quite some time. Most email marketing companies support the ability to send out messages that include graphics and formatted text. This is surely something you'll want to look for. However, not all of your users have the ability to view email messages in HTML format. This percentage is usually between 10-20%. Instead of seeing your aesthetically pleasing email they might see a string of meaningless code. Using most email list management programs, these 10-20% of users will open up emails from you and be very inclined to call you a spammer. To avoid this, look for companies that use multi-part MIME to send out messages. When you send an HTML email in multi-part MIME, users who do not have the ability to view HTML messages will receive the email in the usual text format. So who should you use? Do your homework, read reviews, eventually, make use of a trial account and see if it fits your needs. I currently use Intellicontact (Owned by Broadwick Corporation, a company specialized in software that improves communication efficiency for businesses) - check them out at www.bsleek.com/emailmarketing - they do everything I told you about in this article, plus more. vig rx pill vigrx results penis enlargement without pill vimax penis enlargement pump enlargment penis pill vimax best pnis enlargement pills penis enlargement procedure penile enlargement traction device

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In Northern Australia the Didjeridu is seen as a phallic symbol and therefore a male instrument. Women are prohibited from playing. Stories of the Didjeridu vary from place to place among the different language-speaking groups in this large continent. In the beginning, in the North of Australia, a giant captured two young girls to be his wives. One day they escaped and made their way back to their tribal people. The tribal elders knew the giant would ccme looking for his brides so they dug a huge pit along the path leading to their home camp as a trap. They waited behind an anthill. In his anger and haste, the giant came running and fell into the pit. The tribal hunters threw their spears, mortally wounding him. The giant curled into a ball in his death throes. As he curled into himself he began to blow on his penis, making an eerie droning sound. He rolled and roared, thrashing around in the pit, the deep drone of his penis thrummed through the earth and caused the birds to fly high into the heavens. The men wanted to recapture such a sound of power, so they searched for and found a large hollow log with the centre eaten out by termites. By blowing on one end of this hollow log, they were able to create the sound made by the giant in his death throes. And from that time, the didjeridu is a sacred instrument to men, for it holds the power of the giant. In another story from the South-East of Australia, three men were camped in the bush on a cold night in the middle of winter. One of the men, watching the fire, picked up another log to feed the flame which was getting low. As he picked up the log he found it was hollow but thought no more about it until he turned to drop it into the fire and noticed the entire length was covered with termites. He didn't know what to do for the termites were his totem ! He couldn't throw the branch into the fire, because it would kill the termites but the fire had to be kept burning on such a night. He carefully removed all the termites from the outside of the log by scooping them into his hand and gently placing them inside the branch. Then he raised the branch to his lips and blew the termites into the air. And the termites blown into the air became the stars and the first didjeridu was made. The didjeridu is the world's oldest known musical instrument. Traditionally, it's made from a branch in which white ants eat their way up through the centre towards the sunlight. The outer shell of the branch remains solid and protects the ants. Eventually the branch dies and falls to the ground. After shaping the ends and marking it with personal designs, this becomes the didjeridu. Many Aboriginal people believe that there is a man's spirit inside the didjeridu - so women may not play it. And if you listen now to the didjeridu it will go into your ears, open your heart and lift your spirit. health pro solution cheap penis enhancement pills penile enlargment before and after picture penis enlargment result vimax penis enlargement herb penis enlargement surgeon top rated penis elargement pills home penis enargement penis enlarement traction device

Saw palmetto A small North American palm like plant is called saw palmetto. The extract is obtained from the berries of the plant and it comprises of different fatty acids and sterols. Initial native uses of this extract have helped in improving the reproductive, urinary and genital problems. Constituents of Saw palmetto It basically comprises of fatty acids like- lauric acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid and myritic acid. Also phytosterols( plant sterols) and polysaccharides. Uses of Saw Palmetto It may be of great help in improvement in a condition of BPH or benign prostrate hyperplasia. It is very important as it inhibits the testosterone from acting on the prostrate and interferes with the urine flow. Saw Palmetto may aid in regulating urine flow and may help in reduction of the frequency and urgency of urine flow in men affected by BPH. It may be also used to treat bladder inflammation and chronic bronchitis; it also helps in prevention of balding in men by stopping the testosterone by converting and multiplying the cells. Saw Palmetto also inhibits androgen and estrogen activity and may help in the balanced growth of hormones both amongst men and women. It can also be beneficial in women for breast enlargement and to treat uterine irritability. However owing to hormonal activity saw palmetto is not recommended to pregnant and breast feeding women. Interaction with Drugs The interaction with other drugs is still a growing field for saw palmetto. The interactions Mentioned below are those from scientific journals however it is recommended that whenever it is taken it should be on the prescription of a doctor. Interactions It is highly inadvisable to take Saw palmetto with drugs that affect the level of male sex hormones. It is believed in theory that saw palmetto interferes with contraceptive pills and hormone replacement therapy. The combination herbal product PC-SPES has saw palmetto and warfarin an anticoagulant. There is a can be a serious risk of bleeding if PC-SPES is used with drugs that can cause bleeding like warfarin and clopidogrel. Interactions of Saw Palmetto with herbs and dietary Supplements According to theory saw palmetto may interfere with herbs having estrogen like properties like redclover and soy. The tannins that could be present in saw palmetto affect the absorption of iron in the body. Side Effects of Saw Palmetto The scientific journals and studies report that saw palmetto users can have gastrointestinal trouble, mild headache, erectile dysfunction, mild headache and insomnia. There can be chances of stomach upset, fatigue and restlessness. It is advisable to stop taking saw palmetto before surgeries as it causes bleeding at tiems in some people. Usage The usage mentioned below is according to scientific journals and traditional usage- Adults- aged 18 or older • A usage of 320 milligrams daily if taken as tablets and capsules • Berries- Two grams of ground berries or whole taken by mouth • Tincture- two to four ml for oral dosage Children- Aged below 18 There is no satisfactory evidence to give saw palmetto to children. penis enlarement pills review pennis enlargement review penis enargement operation magna rx results review vimax do penis enlargement pills work penis enlagement without pills extra pro solution strength penis elargement surgery photo penis enlarement traction device

Manufacturers claim the pumps are a miracle treatment for women who dream of fuller and supple breasts without the pains and health problems associated with surgery. Breast enlargement pumps consist of a pump attached to a specially designed cups or cylinders. Each cup or the cylinder is attached to the breasts and manually pumped up to a good pressure. This procedure is repeated for 15 minutes twice a day to produce the best results. According to the manufacturer, the external pressure creates a suction by which the breasts are pulled outward. This process increases vacuums of fat and fluids and makes them flow into the breast tissue cells causing them to enlarge. Pumps also helps to build and expand the mammary gland tissue by stimulating a balanced natural hormone level and encourages increased production of collagen to provide firmer breasts. Some manufacturers claim that regular stimulation of the breast tissue by pumps induces the pituitary gland to increase the production and release of the female hormones responsible for breast growth. Besides, regular stimulation and the gentle stretching of the breast repeatedly induces new cellular growth and enlarges the breast. The process works in the same manner as regular exercising does for muscle growth. Whether the breast enlargement pump is effective in the enhancement of the breasts is still a matter of speculation. Many doctors deny any role of pumps in the process of breast enlargement. The supposed increase in the size, doctors say, is purely a placebo effect. Secondly, the elastic nature of the skin responds to the prolonged pumping by stretching itself to an extent as to give the effect of an enlargement. Some women claim that prolonged use of pumps has increased their breast by 2 cups. Some have reported an increase by a cup size within three weeks. The use of breast enlargement pumps may harm or damage the breast tissue, so before deciding on the use of pumps it would be worth the effort to investigate all information thoroughly. natural penis enlargment exercise enlargement forum free matter penis size free penile enlargement pennis enlargement operation health pro solution pnis enlargement best enlargment exercise penis vigrx ingredient penis enlarement traction device

Dial 1-800/AIDSNYC Every Monday and Wednesday morning, promptly at 10 a.m., I leave behind my daily life and turn to volunteering as an AIDS Hotline counselor at New York City’s GMHC [Gay Men’s Health Crisis], the nation’s largest social service agency for AIDS. For the next four hours, my co-volunteers and I sit in front of a bank of constantly-ringing telephones, talking to men, women, and teens who call in from across the nation with urgent questions about AIDS, the ravaging disease that has left 13.9 million people dead worldwide. After almost 20 years, a whole generation, families are still facing the heartache of tending the sick, while scientists continue to be confounded by this stubborn, ravaging virus. Although the federal government currently spends$4 billion per year on AIDS research, and $15 billion worldwide, there is no cure in sight for the viral infection and no vaccine available. Small wonder that the GMHC AIDS Hotline, the nation’s first, is flooded with more than 40,000 calls each year. Listening to callers 8 hours each week, I often think the Hotline is actually a direct link to the soul of callers--an anonymous forum that allows each to reveal secrets and fears that they might otherwise never discuss with anyone. A Morning in May This is the way it began: “Good morning, GMHC AIDS Hotline, can I help you?” “Yes...I have a question...[hesitantly] My son...he’s 21...and he just found out...he’s HIV-positive [voice breaking] I’m.....alone, divorced. And I need some help...someone to talk to...” “Of course....happy to talk to you...it sounds like this has been devastating for you....” “It’s terrible. He told me two nights ago....he’s...he’s so young....I don’t want him to die. He’s my only child....why did this have to happen?” [crying] Her son, she explains, had sometimes neglected using condoms, convinced he wouldn’t contract HIV infection from his female partners. “How could he be so stupid?” she now asks angrily. “Why didn’t he know how to protect himself? I don’t understand. What am I going to do?” We talk for 35 minutes, and by the end of the conversation, I notice I’m barely breathing. The distraught woman’s anguish is palpable. Her situation is every mother’s worst nightmare.The life of her child is in jeopardy and she feels helpless and afraid. I can’t imagine anything worse. During the call, I do my best to employ the GMHC Hotline protocol of “active listening,” which involves using silence, empathy and gentle probing with open-ended questions. I’m also having my own emotional reaction to the panic in her voice, and I’m worried about whether I’m doing enough. Toward the end of the clal, when she exclaims: “I don’t want my baby to die,” my heart plummets: “I know....I understand that, but there is hope,” I tell her. I find myself on the verge of tears. The Bad News This mother’s story is too common. According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga., 40,000 Americans (half of them under 25) are newly infected with the AIDS virus each year. Unprotected sex and intravenous drug use remain the principal modes of transmission. “Teenagers,” notes AIDS activist Elizabeth Taylor, “are being very hard hit.” She refers to the three million adolescents who contract a sexually-transmitted disease annually. “Heterosexual teenage football players who are healthy and drink milk can get it too!” says the 71-year-old actress, who has singlehandedly raised $150 million for AIDS research. “But teens are very ignorant and feel invincible. They believe there’s an invisible shield protecting them from the virus, when it’s actually aimed right at them.” Taylor believes in addressing the problem head-on: “Tell your teenage son: ‘Maybe a condom doesn’t feel as good, but if it saves your life, it’s better than being six feet under.’ Intelligence must replace random sex.” Although a new generation of AIDS-fighting medications is prolonging the lives of thousands, nearly half of the 900,000 people infected with HIV in the U.S. cannot afford these drugs. Since the virus was discovered in l981, 410,800 Americans have died from AIDS-related complications, and the disease has left 13.9 million dead worldwide. Who Calls a Hotline? Not long ago I took a call from a 15-year-old boy living in a small town who said he feels guilty about his sexual attraction to other boys and is scared to discuss this with his parents. I ask him if there’s a school counselor or relative he might talk to, but he says he’s too afraid to confide in anyone. Being a teenager is hard enough, I thought, without the pressure of keeping this kind of secret. I felt angry and saddened that this child can’t comfortably discuss his feelings with his own parents. I encourage him to call the Gay Community Center Youth Program in a nearby city. In the meantime, I assured him that he could call our Hotline anytime, that we’d be there for him. This call was typical of the many we get from teenagers,whispering from their parents’ homes, confiding their blossoming sexual feelings and concerns. Our Hotline also receives calls from married men who phone from their offices, worried about extramarital sexual encounters; gay men suffering side effects from medications; mothers caring for a sick child or grieving for one lost to AIDS; even health care professionals themselves confused and requiring burnout support. One particular morning, I’m struck by the number of single women who turn to our hotline for help. At 10:15 a.m. a distraught young woman calls, explaining that she had been dating someone “very charismatic,” after a two- year period of sexual abstinence. “At first we used condoms and I was taking the pill to avoid pregnancy,” she says. But after her partner assured her he was HIV-negative, the couple began having unprotected sex. A few months into the relationship, she recounts, his behavior became “unpredictable,” until he finally admitted he was sleeping with other women and was addicted to heroin. Now she has to withstand the “terror” of waiting 3 months before getting an HIV antibody test. To help her cope, I give her the names of three terapists in her area. The call lasts 43 minutes. At 11:15 a.m. I take a call from a woman who is breathing heavily. She says that four months earlier she’d had a brief affair with a limousine driver, “not out of passion, but because I felt lonely. This was so totally unlike me,” she continues. “I come from a traditional Orthodox Jewish family...” Although they used condoms, and she has since tested negative for HIV, she feels deeply ashamed, and has stopped seeing him. And because she has both a persistent vaginal yeast infection and a rash on her neck, she’s convinced she must be infected by HIV. Although rashes, high fever, swollen lymph glands, heavy night sweats, sore throat, or other flu-like symptoms may indicate HIV, they can just as easily accompany the common cold or flu, or other type of infection. I encourage her to seek medical help and counseling, but the calls ends on a down note. “I must have it [AIDS],” she moans. I’m exasperated because it doesn’t sound that way to me, yet I can’t get through to her. The call lasts 22 minutes. It’s 11.38 a.m. when a well-spoken woman, who says she’s an attorney, calls from her office, asking for the names of anonymous testing sites. At first very businesslike, she calmly takes down all the information. I ask her why she’s considering a test. Total silence. Then she begins to cry: “I....I can’t talk....I’m sorry...you see, I have swollen lymph glands....[crying]....And my doctor wants to rule out HIV...I feel overwhelmed...” Then, abruptly: “Where can I send a donation?” She thanks me and hurries off the phone after just 3 minutes. These were one-time callers, but, as in any epidemic, an element of panic prevails, and our hotline also attracts an army of “chronic” or repeat callers who are intensely fearful no matter how benign their risk, many revealing continued misconceptions and paranoia about a disease that can be effectively prevented. We do our best to help them, but often they’re impervious to counseling. Most poignant are calls we get from AIDS patients, phoning from their hospital beds, attempting to navigate the exhausting labyrinth of insurance and health care matters. One man, in hospice care, said he craved companionship and missed the “good old days” when he was handsome and healthy. That call was a tough one for me as just the day before a close friend of mine, Joe, who had battled HIV for 16 years, had finally succumbed. Although at the end Joe was a mere skeleton, he was nonetheless at peace. “I’ve done what I wanted to,” he told me on our last visit. An avid gardener, he insisted on a final trip to his country house to see his garden one last time. For a moment the caller’s reality and the memory of my deceased friend blurred in my mind and I was overcome. Time for a break. Face to Face One of the most and unique services GMHC offers is called “A-Team Counseling,” a one-time, in-person session that’s free and anonymous. Recently, I was on an A-Team counselling a 26-year-old HIV-infected mother from the Midwest. She had traveled to Manhattan by bus to find her estranged boyfriend, who, she recounted tearfully, had kidnapped her 7-year- old son. Disheveled, painfully thin, the woman was a disturbing sight. She’s learned that the two had already returned home where the boyfriend was, and the child put in his grandmother’s custory. custody of his grandmother. Meanwhile she’d run out of money for the return trip, been refused a loan by her family, lost her ID, gone hungry and spent two nights on the street. Fortunately, this woman was registered at a local AIDS organization in her town. I telephoned her caseworker and persuaded him to buy her a one-way Greyhound bus ticket for $115.00. I also gave her subway tokens, a basket of food, juice and coffee. Smiling shyly, she thanked me for caring. Shaking hands good-bye with this woman was a bittersweet farewell. What will happen to her? I wondered will her health deteriorate or improve? Will she gain control of her life and be able to provide for her son? I’ll never know. One thing I do know: She’d appeared with the sorrow of a difficult life in her eyes, but when she left, she was elated at the thought of being reunited with her child. It seems that with faith and a helping hand, almost anything is possible. * * * * * 10 BIGGEST MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT AIDS AND HIV (This list would probably be most effective when presented in a vertical chart, the misconception on the left, the correct answer on the right.) 1)The AIDS virus can be transmitted through saliva, sweat, tears, urine or feces; also through deep kissing. 1) HIV can ONLY be transmitted through four bodily fluids: blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk--and can also be transmitted from a mother to her child before birth, during birth, or while breast feeding. The exchange of saliva through kissing is no-risk, unless the saliva has blood in it and both you and your partner are bleeding in the mouth simultaneously. 2) HIV may also be transmitted through casual contact with an infected person. 2) You can’t get infected from toilet seats, phones or water fountains. The virus can’t be transmitted in the air through sneezing or coughing. You can’t get HIV from sharing utensils or food or from touching, or hugging. HIV dies after being exposed to the air. Therefore, touching dried blood on a shaving blade, a toothbrush or a bathroom counter top is no risk. In any case, unbroken skin is impermeable, like a rubber raincoat, and cannot absorb the virus whether it’s alive or dead. Blood transfusions and medical procedures in the U.S. are safe. Giving blood is completely risk-free. The chance of getting HIV from dentists or other health care providers is too low even to measure.You can’t get it from mosquitoes or other insect or animal bites. 3) Oral sex is just as risky as vaginal or anal intercourse. 3) Although not 100% risk-free, oral sex is considered a low-risk activity,except if: you have bleeding gums, recent dental work, open sores such as a herpes lesion, any cut, blister, or burn in the mouth, or if you’ve just brushed or flossed your teeth. Also, oral sex with an infected woman is riskier if she is having her period, since menstrual blood can contain HIV. Overall, latex barriers, (such as condoms or dental dams) used during oral sex reduce the transmission of not just HIV, but other sexual transmitted diseases. 4) Animal skin, latex and polyurethane condoms are all equally effective in preventing HIV infection and you can use ANY lubrication on the condom desired. 4)Only latex or polyurethane condoms may be used, as HIV can pass through an animal skin condom. With latex condoms, only water-based lubricants--like K-Y jelly or H-R jelly--may be used. No lubricants with oil, alcohol, or grease are safe.Petroleum jelly,Vaseline, Crisco, mineral oil, baby oil, massage oil, butter and most hand creams can weaken the condom and cause it to split. However, with polyurethane condoms, petroleum-based lubricants can be used. 5) Women have to rely on men using condoms during intercourse to protect themselves against HIV. 5) Women may employ the “female condom,” a plastic sheath that can be inserted in their vaginas and used for protection against HIV. It can be inserted up to 8 hours before sex, has rings at both ends to hold it in place and can be lubricated with oil-based lubricants that stay wet longer. In addition, women can carry conventional condoms for their male partners’ use. 6) If a woman is HIV-positive, her offspring will automatically be born infected with HIV. 6) With no medical treatment taken, about 25% of HIV-positive women will give birth to infants who are also infected. However, the use of anti-HIV medications has resulted in a significant decrease of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in utero and during delivery to less than 5%. (NYT 10/19/ 99]. 7) AIDS is fundamentally a gay disease contracted by white males. 7) Recent data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that young gay Hispanic and African-American men and heterosexual women are the fastest growing segment of the population being infected with HIV. Women now account for 43% of all HIV infected people over age 15. [NYT 11/24/98] African-American and Hispanic women account for more than 76% of AIDS cases among women in the U.S. 8) Heterosexual men are not really at risk for contracting HIV, even if they don’t use condoms. 8) The inside opening of the penis is composed of highly-absorbent, sponge- like mucous membrane tissues, which can provide a route for HIV-infected vaginal secretions or blood to enter the bloodstream. Proper condom use protects men from infection. 9) The AIDS epidemic is largely over because new AIDS medications like protease inhibitors and others have turned AIDS into a chronic, not a terminal disease. 9) In the U.S., AIDS is the fifth leading cause of death for people 25-44 years old. Roughly half of all those infected with HIV in the U.S. are not receiving any medications or medical care. AIDS now kills more people worldwide than any other infection, including malaria and tuberculosis.[NYT 11/24/98] In 1998 alone, 2.5 million people died of AIDS worldwide. 13.9 million people have died since the virus was discovered in 1981. 10) If you think you’ve been exposed to HIV through unprotected sex, you can take an HIV antibody test 2 weeks later and get an accurate result. 10) The standard “window” or waiting period remains a full 3 months. However, because the widely-used HIV antibody tests (The ELISA and Western Blot) have become so sensitive, about 95% of people will procure an accurate result 4-6 weeks after a possible exposure to the virus. * * * * [Note:The information stated above was reviewed for medical accuracy by Dr. Todd J. Yancey, an infectious disease specialist practicing in New York City and affiliated with New York Presbyterian Hospital, NY, Cornell Campus.] THE CHILD LIFE PROGRAM “Mommy takes a lot of medicine and Mommy’s really tired sometimes and she can’t take you to the park as much as she used to. It’s not that I don’t love you...and that I don’t want to...but Uncle Jack’s going to take you to the park today.” --A mother living with AIDS, a client at GMHC, talking to her 6-year- old son. In New York City alone, 28,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS since the epidemic began [NYT 12/13/98] GMHC’s unique Child Life Program serves HIV-infected parents and their children--who may, or may not, be infected with the virus. “We help families strengthen their ability to cope, relieve the pressure of parenting with support services, and teach parents how to talk to their kids,” says Child Life Program Coordinator Alison Ferst. “Unfortunately, should a parent or child be sick enough to be facing death, we also help them walk through it with grace and dignity---as opposed to feeling alone, isolated and frightened. “We also encourage sick parents to make stable legal plans for their children who may be left behind,” adds Ferst, “and to have disclosure conversations with the children in advance, so you don’t have a child standing at her mother’s funeral, not sure where she’s going next.” When an HIV-infected Mom arrives at GMHC to have lunch, attend a support group, consult with a lawyer, or access the acupuncture clinic, she can leave her children in a spacious playroom, decorated with fanciful murals and a giant tree hand-painted by the famed children’s story writer and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, who donated his art. [see photos] The program provides: child- sitting, nutrition services, a food pantry, art and magic classes, and recreational trips--church picnics, seasonal apple-pumpkin picking, amusement parks, zoos, museums, beaches. Also: homework help sessions, holiday parties, hospital visits, summer sports and weekly support groups for HIV- positive parents and their HIV-negative children. This unique program also features: Cooking classes for kids who sometimes prepare meals for sick parents; Pediatric Buddies, GMHC adult volunteers who play with sick children and also assist with family chores; Fun With Feelings Support Group, Friday Evening Family Time, Birthday parties, and a Holiday Gift Drive. “Children infected or affected by AIDS,” concludes Ferst, “want to be like other kids: They want to play with their friends, want to know that someone will always take care of them, want to know they’re not alone, and often wonder if it’s their fault when Mom or Dad gets sick.” These children need a helping hand and any of us can provide one.