Saturday December 1st 2012 is World AIDS Day; to commemorate the 25th anniversary of this event Dundee FC Supporters’ Society invited members of the red Ribbon Campaign to Dens Park for the visit of Hibernian on the 19th of November, to give the campaign a chance to raise awareness for the event. Joining us on the day were Donna Thain and Christine Bird from NHS Tayside, and Laura Kerr and Janet Murray from Dundee District Council’s Drug, Alcohol and Blood Borne Virus team.
DFCSS caught up with Donna after the game, to see how the day went, and what message she hoped to get out to the Dundee fans with the visit. ‘ We started approaching some local clubs to see if any of them would be willing to let us come along and spread the word, and Dundee thankfully said we could'
'Jacqui Robertson got in touch, and asked us if we would like to come along on the 19th November to spread the word. I honestly did not know what to expect, but then Jacqui and her team did a fantastic job guiding us through the day, and the supporters were fantastic as well, we actually ran out of leaflets such was the interest in World AIDS Day. Football crowds are maybe an audience we wouldn’t normally reach, but when you see the diversity in the fans, there is a big mix of ages, and this is a great opportunity to spread the word about safer sex, HIV, and World AIDS Day.’
‘This is a message we really want to get out into the general public, and it is important we target audiences like this, and not just groups seen as ‘at risk’, because the reality is, everyone who is having sex is at risk. When you look at the number of young males going to football that is a group who generally won’t pick up leaflets, but they were almost a captive audience for us, so it iwas a great chance for us to get the information to them.I was really surprised and pleased at how many fans came to speak with us, donated money or got some information about HIV. I did get quite a few laughs from some of the older fans when I offered them Red Ribbon condoms though! I'd like to thank the Club and all the fans for their support and look forward to working with them again in future.’
Community Director Jacqui Robertson was delighted to welcome Donna and her team on behalf of DFCSS, ‘It was lovely to meet the girls who were a really friendly and approachable team, whose employers should be very proud of their passion and effort in raising awareness. One particular member of the team, who shall remain nameless to spare her blushes seemed to be pretty starstruck by our Deewok who was happy to meet her. In all seriousness World AIDS Day tells the story of a stigmatised illness that may have touched the lives of our fans or their families in the past or the future. We were pleased to play our part’
We asked Donna how Dundee fans can get involved with World AIDS Day, ‘The main way to be involved is to wear a red ribbon and be HIV Aware - know the facts about HIV and how it is transmitted and how to protect yourself.
There are also a number of events going on throughout Tayside for World AIDS Day, including information stalls, art exhibitions, charity bake sales and a community gathering - full details can be found on www.bbvmcntayside.scot.nhs.uk but the main thing is to stay safe-stay sexy.’
