The first-year student at Brown heads Kids CAN!, a nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing young people in the fight against AIDS by providing information about opportunities to help in communities nationwide.
Her enterprise provides names of camps, a phone number to call to order AIDS information booklets, and links to related Web sites. It also contains a survey that asks young people for information about AIDS organizations and resources in their communities.
Gaffney, 19, of Berkeley Heights, N.J., founded Kids CAN! (the CAN stands for Care AIDS Network) four years ago and a few years after one of her voice teachers died of AIDS.
Initially she reacted to her teacher's death by organizing and singing in a concert that raised $28,000 for AIDS organizations in the Tri-State area.
Afterward Gaffney decided that she wanted to direct her energy toward empowering other young people to help fight AIDS through volunteer efforts, and, along with a few high school classmates, began the process that would form the organization, she said.
"I didn't feel kids were getting as involved as they could," said Gaffney. "I felt kids could have as much effect as adults."
She set up the Web site with assistance from workers at Columbia University where her mother teaches. Gaffney also developed a new twist on the traditional AIDS support ribbons and patented the design. Instead of a loop, the top of the ribbon forms a heart.
The community service work has brought Gaffney recognition. She was one of 20 finalists for the React Take Action Award, given out by the publication of the same name, and will be featured in an upcoming issue of Teen People magazine.
Many young people who visit the Kids CAN! Web site send Gaffney general questions about how to volunteer in their communities. Others from AIDS-related organizations seek permission to link with the Web site. A jazz concert organizer once asked whether it was possible to donate the money raised to Kids CAN!
The questions arrive by e-mail, an estimated 35 to 70 a month whether she is at home or at Brown, said Gaffney. The e-mail is sent by people in places such as Littleton, Colo.; Charlotte, N.C.; Bidwell, Ohio; and Miami, Florida.
Sometimes messages arrive with praise for Gaffney's efforts. A high school senior in Bloomsburg, Pa., who visited the Web site while doing research for a presentation about AIDS prevention, wrote, "Congratulations Lauren and the others who are the force behind this organization, it is fabulous."
Many of those who helped start the organization with Gaffney have gone their separate ways to different colleges, she said. However she still plans to continue adding information to the site and responding to e-mail.
"I just want to give kids everywhere the chance to help," said Gaffney. "I feel like there is so much more to be done."
Recently she sought information through the Swearer Center for Public Service about camps in Rhode Island for children with HIV/AIDS. Those names may be added to the Kids CAN! site once she checks out the information, she said. - Kristen Lans