Inspired by one woman’s crusade to educate inner-city children about the prevention and treatment of HIV/ AIDS, New York based-agency The Lord Group decided three years ago to donate office space, equipment and staff to help with her cause. The relationship continues today and has manifested itself in assorted ways.
Maribel Cruz started Action Against AIDS in ’95, after reading a newspaper article about a group of school children banned from attending summer camp because they were HIV-positive. The article-and startling statistics like the fact that an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 Americans become infected with HIV annually-convinced Cruz, a former sales/marketing manager at now defunct Wondercamp Entertainment, to focus on working with kids to address the issue.
Cruz initially worked out of her apartment, but then got the invite to set up shop at The Lord Group’s downtown offices. The two organizations have been working together since Cruz was introduced to the agency’s president/CEO Roger Chiocchi, through one of her volunteers, Mike Myers, who at the time worked in the agency’s mailroom.
"I meet a lot of people, but from day one, she really impressed me with her confidence and dedication. My immediate reaction was here’s someone who is really committed to something, who is doing something for kids and we should be a part of it," recollected Chiocchi.
The agency started getting involved with Action Against AIDS in various ways, including helping with campaigns and brochures, fundraising events and producing a promotional video in conjunction with MTV, which was sent out to corporations and educational facilities. The Lord Group also created a PSA for the organization, which aired nationally on major cable networks. It was produced in-house by Chiocchi; Jeremy Landman, digital design/production manager; Tony Kobylinski and Jim Ritterhoff, executive creative directors; and assistant producer Maddy Kadish. Also involved in the production were Dick Lord, chairman emeritus (who has since retired but still holds the title); senior producers Yris Bilia and Chris Thielo, and production assistant Margaret Kohlbeck, who have all since left The Lord Group.
Chiocchi, who also sits on the Action Against AIDS’ board of directors, explained that the relationship evolved to the stage where some of the agency staff became very passionate about Cruz and her organization, volunteering to help not just in marketing, but in any capacity they could. This led him to question how he could help her more. At any one time, there are about five agency staffers working with Action Against AIDS.
It was through The Lord Group that New York music/ sound design company Kamen Entertainment Group (KEG) got involved with Action Against AIDS-after responding to a letter that was sent out last October to all of the agency’s suppliers. Organized by Kohlbeck (who, while no longer with the agency, is still working with the organization), the mailing requested assistance in staging a Dance-A-Thon at the Manhattan Center, New York, to raise money for Action Against AIDS.
KEG has been working with The Lord Group on spots since ’83. At the time the letter was sent out, explained KEG co-owner and entertainer Marina Kamen, she was doing a series of club parties called Convergence during which ad agencies of similar cultures got together and showed reels of their work. Kohlbeck recognized Kamen from Convergence and invited her to host the Dance-A-Thon. Since then, KEG has been involved with Action Against AIDS on several levels. Last month, Kamen hosted an Action Against AIDS 2000 "Edutainment Program" in the New Jersey area, but had to pull out of the Manhattan, Queens, Bronx and Brooklyn components of the tour. She was replaced by Doctor Bob Lee, a radio personality from New York FM station WBLS.
The two-hour "Edutainment Program" included talks by an AIDS educator and a one hour performance by recording artists such as Keesha from RCA Records, and Motown Records’ artists R Angels and Ronnie Joseph. The tour reached 10,000 kids, within a 10-day period. Cruz said the biggest challenge is getting AIDS education and funding back on the agenda. She observed: "There’s so much media hype about AIDS and the fact that people who have the disease are living longer. Unfortunately, they’re not looking at how high the infection rate is and how much it is increasing."
