NYCAAP Benefit Talent Show To Send AIDS Educator To Africa

Newtown Youth Services’ peer AIDS education group, NYCAAP (Newtown Youth Creating AIDS Awareness for Peers), will sponsor its second annual AIDS awareness fundraising talent show at Newtown High School on Wednesday, March 22, at 7:30 pm.

Auditions will be held on Tuesday, February 29, at the Memorial Room in the Congregational Church House, 41A Main Street, starting at 5:30 pm.

Last year, the talent show raised money for Camp Totokett, a summer camp experience for children affected by HIV/AIDS. This year, the proceeds will go towards sending Karina Danvers, a counselor from Yale School of Nursing and AIDS educator, to the XIIIth annual International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa.

Mrs Danvers has been a frequent speaker at NYCAAP events and at the Newtown High School Senior Health Day, as well as a volunteer speaker at many school, community and health care settings in Connecticut and internationally. Mrs Danvers’ goal in attending the conference is to bring back information that she can use in her work as an AIDS educator and counselor, and to learn more about fighting AIDS in Africa, where it is estimated that in 10 years’ time up to 8 million South Africans will die from AIDS.

Anyone interested in auditioning for the talent show or making a donation can call Newtown Youth Services at 270-4335.