Hoyas Work to Prevent HIV Through Outreach

By Christine Roberts | Nov 14 2008 |

In response to the rising levels of HIV/AIDS cases in D.C., GrassrootHoyas, a student-run prevention program, is set to officially launch in January 2009.

As part of its mission, the group will bring together students and athletes to facilitate weekly after school HIV-prevention classes in southeast D.C. middle schools.

Tyler Spencer (GRD ’09), who has worked for two years promoting HIV prevention in South Africa, founded GrassrootHoyas.

“I truly believe that undergraduates and student-athletes could have a huge impact on kids,” he said. “They will be able to make a measurable impact at a young age on these social injustices.”

GrassrootHoyas draws much of its inspiration from GrassrootSoccer, an organization that trains professional athletes and local role models in Africa to spread HIV awareness in communities throughout southern Africa.

With one in every 20 people in D.C. infected with HIV, Spencer sees HIV education as a pressing issue. “We have, in some ways, developing country statistics right in our backyard,” he said. “We are trying to take the concept used in Africa with sports and athletes to move forward in HIV prevention.”

Although the group is still getting off the ground, Spencer has many plans for its future. “We want to do an awareness-raising campaign in which we will talk about AIDS in Africa and run a sports tournament in the spring,” he said. “We are also looking to make a short documentary film about the group in the spring.”

Tom Skomba (SFS ’10), who has worked with Spencer to formulate the long-term goals of the group, is very excited about the group’s potential. “This is a great way to give back to the D.C. community,” Skomba said. “It is a unique way for athletes of all teams to get involved with something.”

GrassrootHoyas plans to hold meetings on Sundays during the spring semester to reach out to students who are interested in volunteering. After gauging student and athlete interest, Spencer plans to hold an intensive weekend training session to teach the HIV prevention curriculum to a group of 15 to 20 GrassrootHoyas coaches.

The group will work with the Georgetown Athletic Department, the Center for Social Justice and Metro TeenAIDS, the only youth-focused non-profit AIDS prevention group in D.C.

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