So, you might be thinking, "Alright, I know all the facts and I want to help out, but people don't take teens seriously. What can I do?". Or you might be thinking, "I need some extra community service hours to help me get that scholarship. What's the easiest thing I can do?" Or you might be thinking, "I want to help, but I don't have much time at all." You have options any way. Support groups and AIDS organizations are all looking for people, regardless of age, to help out. The first thing you need to do is to help yourself. You can't teach others things which you don't follow yourself. Who would listen toprostitute talk about abstinence or a drug user about staying out of trouble? Plus, reforming from high risk activities would give othershope and hold a greater impact on teens. The next thing is to tell others what you know about AIDS. If you know how people can and can't get HIV, you might be one step ahead of everyoneelse. Plus, what you know can't help others unless they get the same message. If you really want to get help out, you can start your own AIDS information group at school- sort of a DARE or SADD thing, except about AIDS awareness. The most popular HIV education group is called HOPE. HOPE stands for Helping Others through Peer Education. HOPE volunteers time at a place called the Hope and Help Center and sponsors school HOPE clubs. Creating an AIDS awareness club not only informs others about AIDS, but it will also encourage others to help. Another thing you can do is to invite people to your school to talk about AIDS. Some of these people could be teens infected with HIV, HOPE volunteers, or even a local celebrity. Calling a local or state hotline can give you some more information about this. One of the most rewarding ways you can get involved in the AIDS crisis is by volunteering your time to work for an AIDS-related organization. You don't have to have any special skills. All you need is dedication. A lot of work in the battle against AIDS is done by volunteers, and almost every city in the U.S. has volunteer organization. You can volunteer in a variety of ways. You can help do office work for a few hours a week, help organize meetings and charity runs, or even becoming an AIDS buddy. This is a someone who visits a person who has AIDS and helps them with their shopping, takes care of pets, or just sits and talks with them. You can also volunteer by working on a telephone hotline and answering people's questions about AIDS and HIV. If you want to specifically help teens, you might want to join a group that offers peer counseling, where you can speak to other teens about AIDS. Perhaps the most important thing to do is to show compassion for people who have AIDS. When you hear people making fun of people with AIDS, let them know that that isn't right. You can wear a ribbon to remember all of the men and women who have dies from AIDS, or a button to show that you are apart of the fight against AIDS. If someone asks what they mean, take time to tell them. Teens like you and I have the biggest chance to make a difference when it comes to educating teens about the AIDS crisis. We're sometimes better able to talk to each other than adults when it comes to sex and AIDS. Anything makes a difference. One person can help a lot of people out, so don't think that being a teen will prevent you from making a difference.