Tacoma, Washington Event: The Mayor Rocks the House

Mayor Bill Baarsma spoke to students and community members last night about his recent trip to Lesotho with World Vision.

A World AIDS Day Rally featuring the Tacoma city mayor and others was held at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Thursday.

Baarsma, who signed a friendship city agreement with the mayor of Maseru, Lesotho during his trip, told the audience that his goal is to have city of Tacoma residents sponsor 1,000 children (orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS), provide 10,000 Caregiver Kits (for volunteers in Africa who are caring for HIV sufferers), raise $50,000, and provide 300 desks for Lesotho by the end of September.

"I'm a citizen of Tacoma, you are a citizen of Lesotho, but we are all a part of the same community," Baarsma reported telling the people of Lesotho during his recent trip. "Dealing with this horrific pandemic requires more than just prevention, although that's certainly one part of it." The mayor said it also requires the holistic approach to bettering the community which is used by World Vision.

- Mike Nichols, World Vision Communications


VIDEO: Pacific Lutheran University Students Speak Out






Lindsay Cook adds her orange thumbprint to the "Make Your Mark Campaign" at the Tacoma World AIDS Day Rally at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. The "Make Your Mark" Campaign is an advocacy campaign asking President Bush and Congress to allocate at least $5 billion of the 2008 budget for the global AIDS pandemic, with 10 percent dedicated to the care of orphans and vulnerable children.









Members of The Gathering Band cover U2's "One" at the Tacoma World AIDS Day Rally at Pacific Lutheran University Thursday night, giving those in attendance a chance to reflect on what they had heard from the event speakers.





PLU students: Please click the "comments" button below ... are you planning on making any changes to your life as a result of this campaign? Let us know what you are thinking!

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