NEW YORK — SCRUFF (www.SCRUFF.com), one of the world’s largest gay social networking apps, have announced a new year-long partnership with the National Minority AIDS Council (www.nmac.org). SCRUFF will be donating a portion of its national ad inventory to NMAC through its newly launched Benevolads™ ad platform. Through this initiative, SCRUFF and NMAC will help educate members about HIV prevention and raise awareness about the stigma of living with HIV or AIDS. SCRUFF and NMAC announced this new partnership to coincide with the 18th annual United States Conference on AIDS (USCA), being held in San Diego, Calif., from October 2 – 5, 2014.
NMAC’s initial Benevolads™ will focus on the organization’s PrEP educational project, PrEPare for Life, highlighting ways that PrEP is shifting the dynamic of HIV prevention and sexual health for young gay men, particularly young gay men of color, through videos and interviews with youth from across the country.
The new partnership focuses on issues related to PrEP, but will be tailored throughout the year to focus on topical events, such as National Coming Out Day and World AIDS Day, among others. As a result of the partnership, NMAC campaigns will reach the more than 7 million global members of the SCRUFF community.
Additionally, SCRUFF executives will be in attendance at USCA 2014, offering valuable insight about the impact the SCRUFF mobile app, and other social media platforms are having around HIV and AIDS advancements, education and prevention. The discussion will revolve around fostering a healthier community for gay men as well as improving dialogue and opportunities for disclosing in ways that can be affirming.
“SCRUFF is proud to work with NMAC to raise awareness about the organization’s mission. Gay men have turned to mobile as the norm for meeting other like-minded men, and we’re glad to be able to educate our members around an issue that’s still of vital importance to our community,” said SCRUFF founder Johnny Skandros. “Since its inception, SCRUFF’s mission has been to connect and strengthen the global gay community. Our new partnership with NMAC enhances both organizations’ goals.”
“We are thrilled to be able to partner with SCRUFF on this exciting new effort,” added Kyle Murphy, NMAC director of Outreach and Public Affairs. “The way that gay men meet and engage each other has changed, and so must the way that we reach and educate the community about the continued toll that HIV is having on our community and ways that they can be proactive about protecting their health. SCRUFF not only provides an avenue for expanding our networks, but has long served as a source of support and community among gay men living with HIV, especially those who may reside in rural or Southern communities where stigma can be as deadly as the virus itself. We hope that this partnership will build on this tradition and engage a new generation in the struggle to end this epidemic.”
