AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was first identified in the United States in 1981, less than twenty years ago. Since that time over 500,000 people have been diagnosed with this disease and nearly 400,000 of those diagnosed have died. One of those deaths was 39-year-old Anthony Torrieri, who died in 1992. Of the numerous family and friends who knew Torrieri no one was more moved by his death than his best friend Dana Cappiello. After his death Dana began to wear a ring Anthony had given her as a way of remembering her friend. That symbol of remembrance would prove to be the inspiration for the UNTIL THERE'S A CURE FOUNDATION.
In 1993 Dana met Kathleen Scutchfield through their children's school. Kathleen was going through her own grieving process having just lost her husband to cancer. As the two women talked they discovered they both shared the same deep concern over the AIDS crisis and the threat it represented to the children of the world. Later that year, and many conversations later, they founded the Until There's a Cure Foundation.
Until There's a Cure is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising millions of dollars, and directing those funds, to helping provide care services for people suffering from AIDS as well as looking to develop youth educational programs to raise AIDS awareness in young people. Finally, Until There's a Cure looks to support efforts to find a vaccine in order to end the threat of HIV/AIDS for all future generations.
The difference between Until There's a Cure and other organizations which are looking to help and support victims of AIDS is that their efforts are completely funded by the nationwide sales of THE BRACELET. Designed by Italian designer Isabella Da Geddes, this simple 1/4-inch cuff bracelet is reminiscent of the POW/MIA bracelets worn during the Vietnam War. It comes in silver-plated, sterling silver or 14k gold and sports a small raised AIDS ribbon on one side. Inside the bracelet are engraved the words Until There's a Cure.
Originally the two women worked out of Dana's home, marketing, packaging and shipping the bracelets with the help of friends and family members. But the response to the bracelet was overwhelming and it didn't take long before the foundation outgrew the Cappiello home. The first retailer in the country to carry the bracelet was Macy's department store, and they sold over 20,000 of them in the first year. Today the bracelet can be found at The Body Shop, Virgin Megastores, Esprit and many other retail stores. None of the retailers earn any profit from the sales of the bracelet.
In addition to the support from retailers, celebrities such as Daisy Fuentes, Matthew Broderick, Neve Campbell, Robert Redford, Greg Louganis, Tracey Ullman, and many others too numerous to mention here have worn the bracelet, purchased them for their friends and lent their names and faces to help support the foundation and the foundation's goals.
Over the past seven years Until There's a Cure has sold nearly 250,000 bracelets, raising and distributing nearly four million dollars to an array of HIV/AIDS programs. But as important as the money is, the heart and soul of the foundation is still the bracelet itself. Like the ring that Anthony Torrierri gave to Dana Cappieollo The Bracelet is meant to raise peoples awareness of HIV and AIDS, and over the years it has become recognized worldwide as a symbol of remembrance, commitment and hope. Remembrance for those who have suffered and died because of AIDS, commitment to finding a vaccine that will eradicate the virus from our lives and the lives of our children, and the hope that such a vaccine will be found within our lifetime.
For more information on the Until There's a Cure
please visit their website at:
www.utac.org
Or write to:
Until There's a Cure Foundation
520 So. El Camino Real, Suite 718
San Mateo, CA 94402
