On World AIDS Day

Today, December 1st is World AIDS Day. It’s a day meant to highlight the worldwide epidemic of HIV/AIDS. The video above was created at the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City as part of their campaign to encourage action.
You’ve probably seen the Starbucks campaign for World AIDS day, where 5 cents of every cup of coffee will be donated to The Global Fund.
I’ve written before about these types of consumer driven philanthropies and I think they are more about the company’s image than a real desire to make a large impact. Along that vein, there is a counter campaign, Buy Less Crap. From their website:

Shopping is not a solution. Buy (less). Give More. Join us in rejecting the ti(red) notion that shopping is a reasonable response to human suffering. We invite you to donate directly to the (RED) campaign’s beneficiary The Global Fund and to these other charitable causes…without consuming.

So on World AIDS day, think about donating the money you would have spent on a cup of Starbucks coffee directly to the Global Fund.