Cable Positive and Living Beyond Belief Officially Merge

NEW YORK - December 17, 2007

Cable Positive, the cable and telecommunications industry’s AIDS action organization, has joined forces with the youth oriented AIDS awareness organization, Living Beyond Belief, in a long term partnership that allows Cable Positive to become more active in the education and empowerment of young people. “With kids ages 15 - 24 around the globe accounting for about half of all new HIV infections each year, engaging that demographic was an important factor in our future plans,” said Cable Positive’s President & CEO, Steve Villano.  “Living Beyond Belief is a perfect fit into our upcoming strategies for that engagement.”

Living Beyond Belief teaches HIV/AIDS prevention education, raises HIV/AIDS awareness among youth, and motivates NYC high school students to become HIV/AIDS peer educators, activists and advocates by providing them with college grants for their AIDS-related work.  With experience in peer education, Living Beyond Belief brings a new skill set to Cable Positive, and as the organization readies the first ever Youth AIDS Media Institute, these skills come at no better time.  Now, young people face the greatest risk of infection ever in the history of the epidemic it is imperative they not be ignored. 

In commenting on the merger, Bari Zahn, Living Beyond Belief’s President &
Co-founder said "We are very excited about joining the Cable Positive Family.  Now more than ever, we feel certain about our ability to better engage youth, from diverse ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, in all aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention, education and awareness.  This partnership will allow us to reach even more young people by using the arts and media to raise AIDS awareness.  We know the synergies between the two organizations will effectuate increased community awareness about the virus and will have a greater impact towards our common goal of keeping our youth healthy and HIV negative."

ABOUT CABLE POSITIVE:

Founded in 1992, Cable Positive is a non-profit organization dedicated to unifying the talents, resources, access and influence of the communications industry to raise AIDS awareness; to fund AIDS education, research and care; and to promote a more compassionate climate for people whose lives have been affected by HIV and AIDS.

ABOUT LIVING BEYOND BELIEF:

In 1997, a family-funded scholarship program for teen HIV/AIDS peer leaders was created at Martin Luther King High School in memory of Wayne Fischer, the first NYC teacher to publicly disclose that he was HIV positive.  In 2002, the Living Beyond Belief Fund was founded under the North Star Fund to expand its reach to include all NYC public high schools.  In 2003, the organization achieved its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and expanded its goals to include HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention education among youth.