Since 2002, The Global Fund has committed over $5.2 billion to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria worldwide. But that's all about to change.

Introducing Red. A phenomenal new concept that is turning heads in the corporate and entertainment worlds alike. But unlike The Global Fund, Red is a business model. You buy a Red product and the money goes to eliminate AIDS in Africa.

Bono and Oprah went on a shopping spree down Michigan Avenue in Chicago yesterday with the media at their heels, launching Red in the United States. New products were introduced today by Gap, Motorola, Apple, and Converse among others, most cleverly packaged in brilliant candy-apple red. Since its inception in the UK back in March, a growing list of corporate partners have started contributing massive revenues to the cause.

It's not the first time we've heard about Africa this year. In fact, it's one of many efforts to bring the issues of developing nations to the forefront. I have the honor of being involved with three such organizations:

• The Mercy Plays: a festival of original one-act plays about mercy. All proceeds will go to Mercy Ships, floating hospitals that deliver world-class health care in places like Sierra Leone, South Africa and Ghana.


• The Relief Project: a collection of artists united to rebuild lives through music. CD and concert proceeds have been recently donated to efforts in the Dafur region of Sudan.


• The Global Playground: a campaign to raise awareness and funds for education in developing nations. Currently working in partnership with Building Tomorrow, an initiative to build new schools in Uganda.

I might just pick up a new hoodie at Gap today. Why? Because I want to make a change. A change that can save lives. And I want to do the Red thing.

I spent five semesters taking three classes in chemistry (barely... it was almost six) in high school and college. Oddly enough I used the same textbook each time, but that's another story. My biggest roadblock was visualizing the atomic processes and crazy physics that the teacher and textbook rambled on about.

Sure, I could appreciate the chameleon changing color in biology class... or the structure of a volcanic rock in Geology 101. But during countless abstract chemistry lessons, I kept envisioning a virtual classroom where we could all work together to get our hands on 3-D hydrogen and oxygen atoms and make water... or by recording live data inside a digital recreation of a nuclear reactor to learn how it works.

Is there a way? Even the education experts aren't nearly as effective as they could be... and I consider myself one of them. I've done science outreach for seven years now, but lots of ideas are trapped in my head, lacking the funding to be set free.

And then there's Matt. He's ready to take on this challenge of bringing world-class science to kids who otherwise would glaze over unless you started talking about MTV, Tony Hawk, or Xbox. Enter Xience, Matt's new collection of jaw-dropping science demos, rockin' informal teaching moments, and truly interactive experiences that exemplify this great promise for the future of education. From a quiet and humble beginning to what promises to be both entertaining and profound, Matt is on a quest to reach the next level in science outreach.

So I pose my question again: "Is there a way?" And Matt responds with a resounding "Yes! We have the technology to educate without pain." Here's to the potential giant leaps in really making education accessible to the masses, and "the wondrous possibilities that await out tiny selves."