Elizabeth Glaser

Ariel Glaser was a little girl who contracted AIDS. Her mother, Elizabeth, had contracted the disease from a blood transfusion, and had unknowingly given it to her child. When Ariel died in 1988, Elizabeth Glaser co-founded the Pediatric AIDS Foundation with Susan DeLaurentis and Susie Zeegan. The Foundation is dedicated to medical research to improve the survival rate of children infected with the AIDS virus. The Ariel Project, named for Elizabeth's daughter, was specifically created to find ways of preventing HIV from being transmitted from mothers to newborns.

Despite her illness, Glaser never stopped working to raise millions of dollars for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. When she died in 1994, she had succeeded in helping many HIV-positive children.

Paul Glaser, Elizabeth's husband, continued his wife's efforts and, in doing so, earned the cooperation of the Clinton Administration, the National Institute of Health and a growing number of public and private supporters.

The Glaser family's tragedy triggered an inspiring commitment to helping kids, for which future generations can be thankful. Elizabeth Glaser chose not to be a victim and instead became a hero.