Charitable institutions frequently approach celebrities to donate their time and money for their causes. In my case, especially, because I am fortunate enough to have several means of mass communications at my disposal, such as the talk show, the magazine and the radio program.

Since I firmly believe that if you spread yourself to thin you cover very little ground, I decided to concentrate on one cause in particular, and I chose the fight against AIDS. First by serving as Hispanic spokesperson for amFAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research), founded by actress Elizabeth Taylor and Dr. Mathilde Krimm, and then establishing our own Foundation, Up With Life, directed by my husband Marcos Avila, and myself.

A lot of people ask me, why AIDS, when there are so many other worthy causes in this world? To them and to you I answer that my decision was based on the alarming statistics, which affect our population and our youth.

As I quote in my book, according to the Hispanic Health Coalition and Human Services:

One out of every four cases of AIDS among infants is a Hispanic child. One out of every five cases of AIDS among adolescents is a Hispanic youth.

For these reasons, and after witnessing a lot of human misery, many lives cut short in the flower of youth, and a lot of wasted potential, I donate my life and money and all the means of communications at my disposal t warn and inform, and raise the public consciousness in regards to this epidemic. We cannot afford to let up in the fight against this disease, which is decimating our population and represents an imminent danger for our future generations. Remember: They are our future.