A little girl named Denyse

All photos by Adele Sulcas / The Global Fund

Adele from The Global Fund sent us her quarterly report on (RED) last week, with details on grants sent to Rwanda and Swaziland. What struck me the most weren't numbers, however – it was a short story that Adele told about a little girl named Denyse.

On May 18, 2006, when Bono and a number of (RED) partners visited the pediatric ward of the central hospital in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, we met an 8-year-old girl named Denyse, who was a patient in the ward. At the time, Denyse was a tiny, inert, skeletal figure, lying motionless and silent in a bed while her distraught father, himself HIV-positive, looked on with desperation.

At the end of August, we returned to Kigali and met Denyse and her father again. This time, Denyse, a sprightly, smiling child neatly turned out in her school uniform, skipped along the pavement and ran towards us to say hello. Denyse began antiretroviral therapy, which keeps the virus that causes AIDS under control and helps people live normal lives, soon after we met her in May.

The result: a healthy, happy child getting on with school and being a normal little girl. This is what (RED) is helping Rwandans and Swazis to do – to return to health and to get on with life.

I asked Adele for some photos to show you all. Doesn’t she have the cutest smile?

Global+Fund AIDS Africa Rwanda Swaziland

Surround(RED)

What an amazing week! But before I get into that, here's some recommended reading:

1. Pin It Forward: Nicole posted her idea in the comments section of our SHA(RED) Ideas entry and it's such a good idea, I wanted to highlight it here. Thank you, Nicole! We'll check your blog frequently to see how it's going.
http://pinitforward.blogspot.com:

2. Tim is our (RED) friend who created the blog badge featured in SHA(RED) Ideas. I was so excited to publish the badge so you could all start using it (and in a hurry to get to a meeting) that I did not properly c(red)it Tim and link back to his blog. So here it is: http://flyingseeds.timothypost.com/

So about this week... after running a half marathon Sunday, I made my way to The Bridge School Benefit concert in Mountain View, CA and caught some amazing acoustic performances by Trent Reznor, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam and of course, Neil Young. More exciting than the music was the fact that I could walk without a limp after having run 13 miles earlier that day AND the number of people at the concert who were wearing (RED) products. My friend, OJ, was wearing a DESI(RED) shirt and when we walked into the venue someone shouted out, "Hey! Thank you for buying that shirt -- it means you're doing good for the world!!" As we made our way to our "seats" on the lawn, I saw at least 8 other (RED) shirts and some bracelets. It was really exciting to see so much support and enthusiasm for (RED) - thank you. I also saw a woman who ran the marathon wearing a BO(RED) shirt at the finish line -- happy it didn't say INJU(RED) -- 26.2 miles -- congratulations!

Monday I had a meeting at Gap. As usual, I shared all of your feedback and questions. Gap mentioned that they're getting new shipments in stores as quickly as possible. If you're having trouble finding the (RED) products you're looking for, you can sign up for Gap's dedicated (RED) shirt waiting list here: http://www.gap.com/inspired. We also discussed some of the exciting things Gap has planned for (RED) later this year. As soon as we can share the news, we'll post it here and send out a newsletter! In the meantime, since I can't sit still, perhaps I'll train for another run.

(Colette)RED

Half Way There

So far, we’ve successfully blazed a (RED) trail through Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Boise, Boulder, the Missouri side of Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Louisville (pronounced “Lou-a-vull,” I’ve been told), Indianapolis, and just about every Super Wal-Mart and Grandma Somebody’s famous truck stop in between. We’ve been laid over here in Kentucky for a couple of days, due to an unfortunate, last minute cancellation in Lansing, but have managed to spend our time well. Apart from some expected, healthy levels of mischief and a taste or two of some local cuisine (for better or worse—I can’t say that I recommend chili atop of spaghetti), we’ve spent the majority of our time re-solidifying our little traveling circus of good-looking Samaritans. The Hotel Café Tour said goodbye (temporarily) to Schuyler Fisk in Minneapolis and Joe Purdy and Brian Wright in Kansas City; and although we have not been able to replace them, we’ve filled their bunks with equally amazing artists who are just as excited about (RED) and our fight against AIDS in Africa. Miho Hatori, Jim Bianco, Peter Searcy, Matt Costa, Tim Jones and Charlotte Martin have quickly adopted the (RED) manifesto and paradigm, and are as excited as the rest of us.

Colorado is inspi(RED)

Schuyler Fisk. We miss you! Come back!

Everyone on stage

Having woken up almost every day of the last three weeks in a new city, many of which I’ve never visited before, our country has begun to feel smaller and smaller to me. Every town, every region, every little sub-culture is just a few hours’ drive from the last, and not as different as we think it might be. I’ve been met by (RED) enthusiasts across America, and I feel that much closer to home every time someone comes forward as a part of the same community, fighting for the same cause.

Joe Purdy, me, Brian Wright

already (RED)!

Hotel+Cafe Joe+Purdy Matt+Costa RED music tour

SHA(RED) Ideas

Hi! I wanted to share these ideas sent in by fellow (BLOG) RED readers:

(RED) Bracelet:
14 year-old Kiri from San Francisco had a great idea -- she and her mom bought 35 (RED) beaded pins from Gap and created (RED) bracelets. Kiri writes, "The bracelets (pictured) are now a total hit at my school! Everyone wants one, and unlike us kids spending our money on stupid video games and stuff, we are now being in style and helping our world out."

(RED) Blog Badge:
We appreciate our fellow bloggers who are linking to (BLOG)RED. If you want to add some (RED) to your blog or webpage, Tim created this nice (BLOG) RED badge for us.

Click here to get the code needed to place the badge on your page.

Many thanks to Kiri and Tim for sharing their wonderful (RED) creations with us!

If you have a (RED) idea you'd like to share, feel free to post it here.

Talk to you soon!

Colette

(RED) shopping photos

Since Colette gave such an impressively detailed review of our (RED) launch day and shopping spree in her blog entry 2:48am Friday night/Saturday morning, I thought I'd append with some photos.

This sign stopped me dead on my tracks.
















I like Mike -- as an Apple employee, he was enthusiastic about (RED) and even posed with his Pocket Karma t-shirt and (RED) iPod for me :)










Gap's store design is stunning.




















People LOVED (RED)!!




Shopping Gap iPod Apple RED

Things to do in Denver when you're (RED)

1) Bowl

2) Make bad puns

3) Have a good time

4) Continue to spread the word about (RED)

It's been keeping us all pretty busy... It really seems that (RED) has begun to infiltrate absolutely every thing we do! Granted, part of the reason (RED) is always on our minds is due to the fact that our clothes-- which we never change, much less wash-- are still covered with yesterday’s stickers. Poor Brett had a giant (RED) stamp on his cheek for three days. We thought it was a good idea at the time. But seriously, even our bowling alley had a red pin that would occasionally show up front and center, and if you happened to be able to pull off a strike when it appeared, you got a free game. We found it highly symbolic. Josh Radin successfully rolled one for (RED), but the owners didn’t consider the rest of us to be credible witnesses. Whatever.

Cary Brothers: Good Looking Samaritan

Brett Dennon premanently (RED)

Volunteers across America excited about (RED)

But what really matters is that we remember why we’re here. After (RED) hit the US airwaves via Oprah and the news, folks have been flooding my little table after every show wanting to know how to get involved, how we work, where on earth they can get a pair of my sweet sunglasses, and if they can have my job. Although I like my job too much to give THAT away, the rest is my pleasure to share. I’m so proud to be a part of (RED), a part of this tour, and a part of this little community of close friends that have given 7 weeks of their lives to fight AIDS in a country most of them have never visited. They’re not making a dime, but they are making a world of difference.

Cary+Brothers Brett+Dennen Hotel+Cafe Tour Music RED AIDS

2:48am Friday night/Saturday morning

It's been quite a day! Has anybody ever asked, "Do you feel any different?" on your birthday or other significant life event? And you think to yourself, "What kind of question is that!? Why would I feel different?!" And sometimes you accidentally say that out loud. . .

Well, today nobody asked, but I DID feel different. When I woke up from the 2-hour nap that comprised the entirety of my “good night's sleep,” it felt as if I'd woken in a different world – paradoxically, calm and excited. I heard news that the Oprah taping the day before was amazing, received a phone call from Bobby about the important encounter with President Bush at the airport (see previous post (RED) Force One), readied our servers for the influx of launch-day web traffic, sent newsletters announcing the U.S. launch of (RED) to everyone on our mailing list, and exceeded my tolerance for caffeine many times over – things were in order. News of our launch and our new partner, Apple, was hitting the East Coast when I awoke at 4:30 this morning and blog postings were already circulating like wildfire.

I breezed through L.A. traffic – ok, perhaps the world really did change overnight – arrived at the (RED) offices, and began monitoring our servers and responding to the feedback and inquiries already received. Meighen and Amy returned from Chicago and filled us in on the events (and snow) of the previous day. We spent some time creating our (RED) AIM WeeMees, dressing them in and accessorizing them with (PRODUCT)RED items. At 2:30pm we packed up our laptops and headed to a restaurant to watch Oprah together. The restaurant was kind enough to turn off the music, turn up the TVs and tune all 3 sets to Oprah. Some of our friends joined us for the impromptu viewing party – our very patient friends who accept our phone calls at odd hours during the day and night, some of whom haven’t seen us in weeks.

I’ve been working on (RED) since December, 2005. For one hour, watching Oprah, I had goosebumps. Watching the show, surrounded by friends and my colleagues who have become more than just (RED) family – they’re family. During a commercial break, Alan leaned over to me and said, “I remember when it was just… well, Bobby. And then you and Tamsin came along, and we started looking for offices, and now – it’s here!” The irony, of course, is that we’re still looking for offices! The other irony is that while we were all sending Bobby, Sheila, Tamsin and Colin text messages, telling them how wonderful the show turned out, they hadn’t yet seen it. They were still in New York, making the rounds.

When the show ended, we all caravanned over to The Grove so we could shop (RED). Friday afternoon L.A. traffic – not such a breeze. Nonetheless, we arrived at Gap one hour after the Oprah broadcast ended. The windows were (RED) and there was a beautiful fixture – a (RED) boutique – with all the products. We’ve been looking at pictures and had seen samples, but this was the first time we’ve been able to hold and buy the items we’ve been wanting for so long. Friends were calling asking me to buy them shirts and hoodies. And then, it got louder in the store and through the muffled sound (as if underwater) you began to hear:

Gap employees telling customers about (RED); customers replying, “I already know – I just finished watching Oprah.”; “Do you have more medium shirts?”; “I want those Converse!”; “Everybody is getting (RED) for Christmas.”; “Oh no, they’re out of. . . ”; "Which one should I get?"; "Buy them both!" And then Bich Ngoc, who couldn’t even make it from the parking lot to Gap without first ducking into Apple to buy the (RED) Nano, proudly holding up her latest purchase -- "Look at this!" There was a brief moment of silence as Meighen nearly knocked over the larger-than-life Jennifer Garner display with her stroller. Jennifer Garner looks strong -- definitely don't want to take on a 12-foot version of her!

It was one of the most inspi(red) moments I’ve ever experienced. It was wonderful to meet everyone who was shopping (RED) and the enthusiastic Gap employees who have been looking forward to this day almost as long as we have.

Next, we headed to Apple and bought (RED) Nanos. Although she was eager to get to dinner, we coerced Bich Ngoc back into the Apple store while we bought our Nanos. “But I already got mine,” she said. “Well, come watch us buy ours!” That’s what happens when you’re family…

I went to see my friend’s band play at The Viper Room and then headed home. By the time I got here, there were emails, blog comments, and MySpace messages from people around the country saying that Gap and Gap.com/RED were already sold out of some of the items they wanted. “I’m so upset and yet, so happy!” Alessandra’s note exclaimed. We’ve been corresponding with Alessandra for several months. She heard about (RED) when we launched in the U.K. and has been anxiously awaiting products in the U.S. ever since. So it’s with a great deal of appreciation I reply: if you can just wait a little longer, I know our partners are working hard to replenish products as they run out. Call stores, sign up for their mailing lists, sign up for our mailing list, design your own pair of (RED) shoes at Converseone.com and thank you!

It rained tonight. This is Los Angeles. It’s not supposed to rain in L.A. Something IS different about this day. 15 minutes later it stopped. Equilibrium restored. Perhaps the world wasn't different this morning – it just got easier for each of us to make a difference.

~Colette

Apple iPod AIM Oprah Gap Shopping Bono Bobby+Shriver RED President+Bush Nano Converse

Brian Williams interviews Bono and Bobby

Check it out: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15253887/


Brian+Williams Bono Bobby+Shriver

Gap (PRODUCT) RED in The New York Times today

Grab a copy of The New York Times today!

Gap (PRODUCT) RED has taken over the entire backs of three sections of the paper.

Check out Jennifer Garner, Steven Spielberg and Dakota Fanning as they model items from the Gap (PRODUCT) RED collection in poster-sized pages, with their own (RED) words: ASSU(RED), INSPI(RED) and DISCOVE(RED).

What’s your (RED) word?

bn

(RED) FORCE ONE

What a day!

We taped Oprah for the official U.S. launch of (RED) tomorrow. The entire audience was dressed in INSPI(RED) t-shirts -- the beautiful, iconic items that Gap is making in the Mountain Kingdom of LeSotho.

Oprah opened with the comment, "This is the most important t-shirt I've worn in my life." And she ended with, "Shop (RED)," before getting behind the wheel of a red Thunderbird for her shopping trip with Bono down Michigan Avenue.

They hit Gap's completely (RED)-branded flagship first. Penelope Cruz and Christy Turlington were in-store to tout the amazing collection and the impact of (RED) dollars on women and children in Africa. (Converse) RED, which is selling in Gap, looked amazing too. The racks were empty within hours. Motorola created a pop-up (RED) experience in a former museum. The Razr rocks, as Kanye West himself discovered. Emporio Armani shined with 20 models in Armani's signature (RED) wear. I'm now wearing my Armani (RED) watch and switching it to New York time as we're about to land.

A more serious note... after taking over Chicago, the (RED)heads marched up the steps of Air Force One. The President was in town so we carried up the bag of (RED) goodies to show him. Bono and Bobby used the moment to emphasize the critical importance of U.S. contributions to The Global Fund, its G8 commitment, and the need to renew a trade bill with sub-Saharan Africa. I won't mention what Bobby was doing at the back of the plane, but don't be surprised if policy wonks and the White House Press Corps start wondering about phrases like, "We are the people we've been waiting for!"

xo,

Tamsin

P.S. There is so much more to mention, including our new partner, but I don't want to blow tomorrow's news. Tune into Oprah Friday. Look out America -- prepare to accessorize your compassion.

For a preview of what you may see on Oprah tomorrow, click here and watch some video coverage of today's shopping trip.

One more from the road....

We’ve made it to Boise. It’s a little unusual for me to feel like I’ve “arrived” anywhere in a place like this… but it marks the end of our first week on the road. We’ve successfully traveled the entire length of the West Coast, leaving a (RED) impression in every city along the way. As we’ve gotten further and further away from our home-base in Los Angeles, the usual, preemptive hype surrounding (RED) has lessened a bit—but we’re more than happy to spread the word.
The Pacific Northwest welcomed our traveling community of artists, musicians and myself (unfortunately, I cannot claim either title) with open arms and minds. The greater Seattle-Portland area has long been known for its spirit of activism and compassion, and crowds of people have begun to embrace (RED)’s bold manifesto. It’s been remarkable to see how hungry people are to make a difference in any and every way that they can; already wanting to volunteer their time and efforts to the (RED) cause. I’ve never been so encouraged. We really are the people we’ve been waiting for.
When you’re only one week deep and already tired and road weary, it makes all the difference in the world to remember why we’re here. And we remind each other every day, with every song we sing. Or with every song they sing—I just hum along.

Help promote the Hotel Cafe Tour in your city!

First, if you're in a city that the Hotel Cafe Tour is coming to, we'd better see you! :) Last night's show in San Francisco was amazing -- one of the best shows I've seen of theirs ever. The sound was great, spirits were high, and people were loving (RED). It was fantastic to see Brett Dennen give an impromptu speech to the audience about why he thinks (RED) is a good idea. We shot some video so I hope we got that part to show you. I don't want to tell you because it was so good, you need to see it for yourself.

Second, if you're in a city that the Hotel Cafe Tour is coming to, we hope you'll want to help promote the shows to your friends and local establishments!

Here's a promo page where the Hotel Cafe has posted fliers that you can put up in your town. They're even giving away tickets to the folks who do a great job at promoting, in case you're the competitive type. :)

-bn

(GAP) RED in the New Yorker

We have another reason to run to the newsstand today!

Bobby just brought in a copy of the October 9 issue of the New Yorker – and we opened it up to see that (GAP) RED is on nearly every page, from inside front cover to back cover!

Inside you’ll find some (RED) friends wearing (GAP) RED products, including Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Garner, Mary J. Blige, Apolo Anton Ohno, Dakota Fanning, Chris Rock, Don Cheadle, Penelope Cruz, and Christy Turlington.

In the magazine, Gap explains why they’re (RED):

INSPI(RED)
GAP IS COLLABORATING WITH (PRODUCT) RED™ AND THE WORLD’S MOST ICONIC BRANDS TO HELP ELIMINATE AIDS IN AFRICA.

EVERY TIME YOU PURCHASE A GAP (PRODUCT) RED™ ITEM, HALF OF THE PROFITS WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE FIGHT AGAINST THIS DISEASE.

DO THE RED THING.™
TO FIND OUT MORE, GO TO GAP.COM/RED


Thanks, Gap, I’m feeling INSPI(RED), too.

Grab yourself a copy of the New Yorker today!

bn

(RED) in the NY Times

Good morning everyone,

We're all gathered in a conference room in San Francisco - (RED) and our partner companies... it's happening!

We awoke this morning to a wonderful piece about (RED) in the NY Times:
Want to Help Treat AIDS in Africa? Buy a Cellphone. Would love to hear your thoughts about the article and if you're so compelled, please share it with your friends (there's an "email this" link on the NY Times page).

I'm so excited to be sitting here about to discuss our rollout in the U.S., I can't sit still. And yes, I'm heavily caffeinated which is contributing to the jitters. Sitting alongside me are some of the most brilliant and creative people from Armani, Gap, Converse, and Motorola, as well as our creative and PR teams. I'm about to share some pictures and early results from the Hotel Cafe Tour as well as some of the feedback you've already shared with me. I always feel so blessed when it's my turn to present because everyone is excited to hear what you have to say about (RED) and I get to deliver those messages.

On that note, it's time to go... Hope you enjoy the NY Times piece. Let us know what you think.

-Colette

And so it begins...

If you’re wondering why everyone at (RED) is looking a little disheveled this morning… it’s only because The Hotel Café Tour’s opening night at the Los Angeles House of Blues was AMAZING. (That, and a few of us had to sacrifice our hairpins to hang up our banner. But hey, it was for a good cause!)
We couldn’t have asked for a better way to start the tour—a great crowd, and insane line-up (Cary Brothers, Joshua Radin, Brett Dennen, Joe Purdy, Schuyler Fisk, Jessie Baylin and surprise guest Amos Lee), and a rapidly growing buzz about this thing called (RED). Some fans’ curiosity was sparked by the prospect of a (RED) inspired meet-and-greet- with their favorite artists after the show, others followed the trail of “Be a good looking Samaritan” stickers to my booth and wanted to know more. It’s been less than 24 hours, and waves of people are already getting excited to “do the (RED) thing.” We’re excited, too, to say the least.
After an incredible evening and a 3:00 am food stop (standard procedure, I’m told), we set up for our first night on the road. I’m the only girl on the bus thus far… I’m sure that’ll make for some good stories in a few days!