By Chuck Mathews
World AIDS Day is Dec. 1. It was founded to remember those who have passed because of the disease and to educate people about the disease.
IVCC student Erica Cook, an Earlville graduate, started learning about AIDS in 1996 at the Peru Red Cross' first training session. There were only 12 people that first year -- this year she helped to train 75, seven of which are IVCC students.
Cook said that she first started learning about the disease because it was "just one of excuses to get out of high school," but since then it has become a "passion" because two of her family members have died from the disease.
Cook recently went through four days of AIDS training in Denver, Colo., bringing her total training hours up to 250. She presents demonstrations to various groups including high school students and her fellow educators. Her demonstrations include prevention skills, condom demonstrations and needle cleansing.
Cook will be attending Northern Illinois University in the fall of 2001, and she plans to go into health care promotion and administration.
On Dec. 1, Cook will be observing World AIDS Day by handing out red ribbons in the lobby.
Anyone with questions or interested in arranging a demonstration can call the Red Cross at 223-0922.