Alicia Keys Raises a Small Fortune for Keep a Child Alive

Keep A Child Alive spokesperson Alicia Keys is asking her fans to contribute to the charity’s Text Alive Campaign. This simple act allows the non-profit organization continue its work distributing life-saving medication, support and orphan care to children and families living with HIV and AIDS in Africa.

During her concert in Los Angeles on April 5, 2008, Keys asked her audience to send a text message from their cellular phones to 90999 with the word “Alive”. Making a donation couldn’t be easier; a one-time $5.00 charge is added to the sender’s phone bill for each text Keep a Child Alive gets. Service is available on most United States cellular phone carriers.

Keep a Child Alive provides anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment to children with AIDS. It also provides medical services needed to make treatment possible. This includes doctors, nutrition, testing, transportation, and treatment for opportunistic infections because these are all necessary for successful ARV treatment. Furthermore, currently 15 million children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. By 2010 this number is expected to reach 25 million. Keep a Child Alive builds and sustains orphanages to keep the most vulnerable children out of harm’s way.