WAIT Team

WAIT (Washington AIDS International Teens) is a performing arts group that educates youth about the dangers of HIV/AIDS and empowers youth to use their talents to make a difference in the world, revolutionizing the culture and modeling abstinence and faithful life partnership.In September of 2001, Dr. Chang Shik Yang founded the Washington AIDS International Foundation (WAIT) in Washington, D.C. This organization goes to schools, community centers, etc. teaching about the seriousness of the HIV/AIDS pandemic through detailed power point presentations. In March 2002, Kate Tsubata joined as co-director, inspired to start a team composed of youth who are motivated to spread this message and model the abstinent lifestyle as the best way to stop the spread of HIV.
In June of 2002, WAIF met with a handful of Maryland youth ages 12 to 19 to create a powerful performance using the talents of each to produce acts composed of various forms of dance (breakdancing, hip-hop dance, and ballet), music, skits, and other performing arts all with inspiring messages conveying that each person can start a revolution to stop HIV... This was the beginning of the Washington AIDS International Teens (WAIT) team.
Since then, WAIT has reached more than 100,000 people through over 800 performances in the Washington , D.C. Metropolitan area and abroad. It has started teams in 10 other states (Florida, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan, Massachusetts, and California) and internationally - in the United Kingdom, Kenya, Trinidad and Grenada. It has also traveled to many additional US states, and countries such as Israel and Korea, giving performances and training WAIT educators.
WAIT is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 organization, thus it receives no government funding. It is funded solely by fundraising and grants. It is also a health education program.