A Milestone Birthday
Posted by
Robert Yule
Washington, D.C.
August 4, 2011
We’ve all heard that this year marks the
thirtieth anniversary of the first AIDS diagnosis in the United States.
Today at the Foundation, we also commemorate another milestone – what would have been Ariel Glaser’s thirtieth birthday.
Ariel was among the first children to be infected with HIV in the U.S.
Her mother, Elizabeth Glaser, contracted HIV through a blood transfusion after giving birth to Ariel, and unknowingly passed the virus on through her breast milk.
After Ariel lost her battle with AIDS in 1988, Elizabeth
created the Pediatric AIDS Foundation with two friends to save the life of her son Jake, and to give hope to all children and families battling the disease.
Today, thanks to the movement Elizabeth helped start, we have the science and tools to eliminate pediatric AIDS. In the U.S., there are fewer than 200 new cases of pediatric HIV each year. This is a great success story in the fight against AIDS, but also a reminder that we must reduce that number to as close to zero as possible.
The Foundation is working in the areas of the world hardest hit by the pandemic, to stop the 1,000 HIV infections in children that still occur every day. And for those children, mothers, and families already living with the virus, we are helping deliver lifesaving care and treatment.
We like to think that we’re carrying on the legacy of Ariel, as well as her mother Elizabeth.
Watch this short video and listen to
Jake Glaser remembering his sister, and how she created the Foundation’s logo that still inspires hope today.
Robert Yule is the Foundation’s Senior Media Relations Manager, based in Washington, D.C.