Dec. 1 Marks World AIDS Day; (PRODUCT) RED Hits $50 Million Contribution Milestone

Yesterday, just one day before marking World AIDS Day 2007, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced that contributions from (PRODUCT) RED partners -- including GoodBiz113 ad partners American Express, Apple and Motorola -- have reached over $50 million.

This cumulative total, achieved since (RED) was launched in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver, outstrips, by far, all previous private-sector contributions to the Global Fund, and creates a new benchmark for engaging business in the global fight against AIDS in Africa.

(PRODUCT) RED has become one of the largest consumer-based income-generating initiatives by the private sector for an international humanitarian cause. As the Fund looks to existing and new donors to help raise $6 billion to $8 billion annually to finance programs globally to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, (PRODUCT) RED has become a significant and promising new source of funds.

"(PRODUCT) RED has brought about a major change in the way the private sector contributes to global causes," said Dr. Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. "We applaud Bono and Bobby Shriver for their vision in establishing the campaign, and thank (RED), its partners and the consumers who've chosen (RED) for their leadership. The contributions of (PRODUCT) RED partners have already enabled hundreds of thousands of people to benefit from AIDS treatment, prevention and care."

(RED) was created to deliver a sustainable flow of private-sector funds to the Global Fund, and to raise public awareness about the AIDS emergency in Africa. (RED) partners are Gap, Hallmark, Apple, Motorola, Emporio Armani, American Express and Converse.

The partner contributions from the sale of (PRODUCT) RED products are sent directly to the Global Fund to invest in HIV/AIDS programs in Africa. No overhead is taken out of the (RED) money, which means there is 100% throughput to the identified Global Fund grants.

(RED) funds are already at work as part of Global Fund grants in Rwanda, Swaziland and Ghana, funding programs with a primary focus on the health of women and children. (RED) funds will continue to be disbursed to these grants as soon as the next scheduled disbursement requests are received and approved by the Global Fund.

Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant, multilateral financer of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, providing well over 20 percent of all international finance against AIDS, and two-thirds of global financing for TB and malaria.

So far, programs supported by the Global Fund have averted 2 million deaths through providing AIDS treatment for 1.1 million people, tuberculosis treatment for 2.8 million people, and through the distribution of 30 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide.

About the Global Fund
The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector, and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing.

The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.

About (RED)™ and (PRODUCT) RED
(RED)'s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help fight AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT) RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children.

Current partners are: American Express [U.K. only], Apple, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, Motorola and Hallmark. MySpace.com is the first media sponsor in the United Kingdom, and MTV Networks is the first media sponsor in the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.joinred.com/.

Also, for World AIDS Day, The Killers turned their new Christmas single, "Don't Shoot Me Santa", (RED) -- with 100% of the proceeds to benefit the Global Fund, for investment in African AIDS programs. On Tuesday, Dec. 4, the single package -- including audio track and video -- arrives in stores. Click here to order from Amazon.com.

SOURCES: Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, (PRODUCT) RED
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(PRODUCT) RED: iPod nano and iPod shuffle. Apple Store exclusive. Get free engraving and free shipping.

"Tracks In The Sand," a (RED) Album for Africa, by Africa, Now Available on iTunes

We've introduced you to (PRODUCT) RED, the exemplary partnering initiative co-founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise monies for the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. [See November 2006 post, "Dec. 1 Marks World AIDS Day; (PRODUCT) RED Companies Continue the Global Fight Against AIDS."]. Now, we're pleased to inform you that GoodBiz113 ad partner iTunes is making "Tracks In The Sand," a compilation album presented by Vanity Fair and (RED), available for purchase in the U.S.

Inspired by Tom Freston's article, "Showtime In the Sahara," in this month's Bono-edited Africa issue of Vanity Fair, about traveling to an African music festival in Timbuktu, (RED) asked singer, bandleader, producer and philanthropist Youssou N'Dour, 47, a Senegal native, to curate "Tracks In The Sand." This iTunes compilation features 17 of the best recordings by West African artists -- including Salif Keita, Ali Farka Touré, Baaba Maal, and Oumou Sangare.

100% of the sales price of the "Tracks In The Sand" album will be contributed to the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa.

Buy "Tracks In The Sand" on iTunes now, and find out how your purchase can impact the lives of those affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa through the (RED) Impact Calculator!
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4GB and 8GB iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition. Support the Global Fund to Fight HIV and AIDS in Africa.

New (RED) Impact Calculator Helps Tie Value of Purchases to AIDS Treatment in Africa

As GoodBiz113 reported last Oct. 15 and Nov. 30, the (PRODUCT) RED campaign to raise funds for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has made significant strides since its Fall 2006 rollout.

Together, (PRODUCT) RED founder and CEO Bobby Shriver, U2 lead singer Bono and their associates have signed top names -- e.g., American Express UK, Apple, Converse, Emporio Armani, Gap, Motorola -- to create (PRODUCT) RED-specific goods, from which a certain percentage of the profits go to the Global Fund.

According to preliminary tracking numbers, total (PRODUCT) RED sales in the U.S. during the first six weeks raised enough money to:
* Provide more than 40,000 men or women with anti-retroviral treatment for a year;
OR
* Provide more than 2 million peer educators with HIV training;
OR
* Provide a year’s worth of school materials and daily hot meals for more than 86,000 children orphaned by AIDS;
OR
* Provide more than 1 million Rapid Tests, which detect HIV and deliver instant test results.

(PRODUCT) RED Impact Calculator Among Latest Innovations
Now, with the latest (PRODUCT) RED innovation -- the new (RED) Impact Calculator -- socially conscious consumers can find out the ways in which their (RED) purchases could affect people's lives in Africa.

For instance, let's say you bought an Apple iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition, two Gap (PRODUCT) RED T-shirts, two Gap (PRODUCT) RED Leather Bracelets, plus a Motorola (PRODUCT) RED MOTORAZR V3m Phone. Total profits would:
* Provide treatment for 200 pregnant women to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child;
AND
* Provide anti-retroviral [ARV] treatment for two months to a person living with HIV.

The number of (PRODUCT) RED goods you've purchased can be input into the calculator and saved in your own (RED) profile, where you can login to update it anytime at: http://www.joinred.com/news/45/track.asp?sel=3.

You can also tell your friends and family about your (RED) Impact via customizable greeting cards that you can print and send. Check out (RED) Impact Cards today.

For more information about (PRODUCT) RED, go to: http://www.joinred.com.
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iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition. 4GB and 8GB Models Available for $199 an $249.

Dec. 1 Marks World AIDS Day; (PRODUCT) RED Companies Continue the Global Fight Against AIDS

Twenty-five years have passed since the virus later identified as HIV was discovered, yet the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS has relentlessly increased. In Africa alone, 5,500 lives are lost daily and unnecessarily to the deadly disease.

As GoodBiz113 reported in October ["Apple Announces iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition; Portion of Proceeds Contributed to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS in Africa," Oct. 15], several companies comprise the Bono- and Bobby Shriver-led (PRODUCT) RED initiative to raise awareness and funds in the global fight against AIDS: American Express [U.K. only], Apple, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, Motorola, MySpace.com [U.K. only] and MTV Networks. Each partner has developed special (PRODUCT) RED items, and donates a portion of sales or profits from those products to support Global Fund programs.

GoodBiz113 is proud to partner with two (PRODUCT) RED companies: Apple, which donates $10 from each sale of its sleek 4GB and 8GB iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition models; and Converse, which donates 5% of the net wholesale price of its distinctive, red-eyelet (PRODUCT) RED shoes. [See product sample, above.]

[Cindy, a Converse staffer, recently informed GoodBiz113 that the company's (PRODUCT) RED inventory sold out "quite quickly," and doesn't plan to restock until February 2007. Till then, customers have the "Design Your Own -- MAKE MINE RED" option at Converse.com; i.e., choose from several syles, colors, materials, etc., and include the special (RED) eyelets at the top.]

According to preliminary tracking numbers, total (PRODUCT) RED sales in the U.S. during the first six weeks since launch have raised enough money to:

* Provide more than 40,000 men or women with anti-retroviral treatment for a year;
OR

* Provide more than 2 million peer educators with HIV training;

OR

* Provide a year’s worth of school materials and daily hot meals for more than 86,000 children orphaned by AIDS;

OR

* Provide more than 1 million Rapid Tests, which detect HIV and deliver instant test results.

Looking for current information about AIDS? The Kaiser Family Foundation has a wealth of fact sheets about HIV/AIDS -- on both the global and U.S. fronts.

To keep informed about (PRODUCT) RED developments, click here.

Also, tune into a special one-hour program tomorrow evening [Friday, Dec. 1]. Ashley Judd and Salma Hayek have teamed to create a documentary, "Ashley Judd and YouthAIDS: Confronting the Pandemic," which premieres at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST on TLC.