Support Artists for a New South Africa

Dear reader,

here's a call for support from Artists for a new South Africa. I am reproducing it here on request. It's a lengthy posting...

Artists for a New South Africa

ANSA's American Express Members Project

has been voted into the Top 25!

With the help of ANSA's amazing supporters, our project
6841 - Help African Children Orphaned by AIDS

was selected out of 7000 projects and is in the running to win up to $5 million.

We only have 5 days to make it to the Top 5.

This voting round runs from Tuesday, July 17 at 12:00 am EST

through Sunday, July 22 at 12:50 pm EST

VOTE TODAY!

SPREAD THE WORD!

Thank you to everyone who took action, voted, and spread the word. You helped ANSA make it through two elimination rounds. Your outreach efforts also generated a big increase in our website traffic, sign-ups, and online contributions. There are now two rounds left to go and we really need your help to make it to the top.

We made it into the Top 25 in 9th place with 1,383 votes. So we are really going to have to step up the action to make it to the Top 5.

Each AmEx cardholder can vote once in each round

www.membersproject.com

If you have an AmEx card, you can vote now whether or not you voted before.

If you have more than one AmEx card, you can register and vote once in each round for each card.

ANSA is running against major national organizations with huge staffs, budgets, and databases. But we have a chance if you help get the word out far and wide. Our project is the only one that is focused on orphans, AIDS, or South Africa.

We need your help to spread the word.

Forward this email to your family, friends, and colleagues.

Post it on your website, blog, myspace page or facebook profile.

There are currently 15 million AIDS orphans around the world. South Africa has more AIDS orphans and more people living with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world. ANSA's It Takes a Village program is a cost-effective way to provide essential services to South African AIDS orphans. It costs less than 50 cents a day to provide loving care, food, clothing, school fees, counseling, social services, legal aid, and other help, while building community capacity to provide these services. For more information, read below, visit www.ansafrica.org, or to watch a video on ANSA, log onto www.youtube.com/user/ArtistsNewSAfrica.

The final elimination round - Top 5 to Winning Project - will run from Tuesday, July 24 until Sunday, August 5 at 11:59 pm EST. Whatever happens, we will have raised more awareness and galvanized more support for South Africa's AIDS orphans.

Thank you,

Artists for a New South Africa

2999 Overland Avenue, Suite 102
Los Angeles, CA 90064
phone 310.204.1748
info@ansafrica.org
www.ansafrica.org

DETAILED DIRECTIONS
Here's what you do if you're an American Express card holder:
Go to www.membersproject.com

If you're already registered for the Members Project, click "Log in Now."

If you're not registered but you manage your AmEx account online,

click "Log in Now" and then click "Create a Login"

If you're not registered and don't manage your AmEx account online, click "Register Now." (Just for doing that, AmEx will donate an additional dollar to the winning project).

Once you're logged in, go to "Search Projects" and enter ANSA's project ID number: 6841 Vote for Help African Children Orphaned by AIDS.

If you need help, call the ANSA office at 310-204-1748 and we will talk you through the process.

MORE INFORMATION

There are 1.2 million AIDS orphans in South Africa, more than any other nation in the world. This vast crisis cannot be solved by traditional methods. Our groundbreaking, collaborative project empowers communities to care for the orphans in their midst and prevents more AIDS deaths through education and treatment access. It meets urgent needs of orphans including food, clothing, medicine, and counseling, while developing sustainable solutions for each orphan family through legal and social services, scholarships, food gardens, water projects, respite care, etc.

This program was developed by Americans working with leading African AIDS and child welfare experts and is implemented by local organizations and community members. The pilot program has operated successfully for 3 years in 3 communities, served over 5,000 orphans, and built permanent capacity within each community to care for their orphaned children. Help bring this proven program to other children and communities in desperate need.

Artists for a New South Africa (ANSA) brought together a taskforce of leading African doctors, AIDS activists and experts in child welfare, community development and public health to create a sustainable solution to the growing orphan crisis. Together, we developed It Takes a Village (ITV), a comprehensive program that meets the physical, emotional, social and intellectual needs of parentless children.

For under 50 cents a day, ITV provides essential services to orphans in child-run households, where the eldest is raising younger siblings, orphans taken in by relatives with scant resources, and those living on the streets. ITV strengthens communities, trains and employs local residents, supports economic self-help projects, and gets parents tested and treated for HIV/AIDS so they can live to raise their children. Orphans are cared for by committed adults from their own community, who understand their culture and challenges. This cost-effective program can be replicated to serve millions of orphans in South Africa and other hard-hit African nations. ITV is funded and overseen by ANSA, managed by the AIDS Foundation of South Africa and implemented by effective, local partner organizations.

ANSA is a U.S. nonprofit working in Africa and America to combat HIV/AIDS, assist and empower AIDS orphans and at-risk youth, and advance human rights and democracy. ANSA makes a substantial difference by: developing innovative, collaborative programs; providing grants and resources to effective local organizations; and increasing public awareness and participation

Founded in 1989 to support South Africa's quest for freedom and democracy, ANSA has
-Raised $9 million for African Programs
-Shipped 70 tons of medical supplies and books to poor communities
-Educated millions across Africa and the U.S. about HIV/AIDS and voting rights

ANSA's founders, board members, advisors, and core supporters include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Alfre Woodard, Carlos Santana & Deborah Santana, Samuel L. Jackson & LaTanya Richardson, Gillian Anderson, Danny Glover, CCH Pounder, Jackson Browne, Blair Underwood, Alexandra Paul, Jurnee Smollett, Cicely Tyson, Jonathan Butler, Johnny Clegg, Roma Maffia, Gloria Reuben, George Lopez, Jasmine Guy, Noah Gray-Cabey, Robert Guillaume, and many more. For more information visit www.youtube.com/user/ArtistsNewSAfrica or www.ansafrica.org