It is Friday, the last day of school before finals, but unlike most Paly students who are preparing for their exams, members of New Global Citizens, a youth philanthropy group, stress another task: selling t-shirts to raise money to help eradicate AIDS in Thailand and spread awareness of the issue.

“We started the club because we thought it was important for kids our age to have the opportunity of helping those who are less fortunate,” sophomore Cat Chiang said. “Each year we tackle a different problem around the world by fundraising money and educating the public.”

In Thailand, the prevalence of prostitution and poverty create a perfect environment for the HIV virus to thrive, according to club president, sophomore Ahna Rao. Recently the Thai government has cut funding for AIDS prevention and awareness programs, and the number of casualties from the disease has risen, Rao said.

“Thailand is a tourist attraction, and many foreigners bring back the HIV virus to their countries,” Rao said. “You have to start somewhere, and so we chose Thailand.”

NGC has held two garage sales and a bake sale, presented its cause at Paly’s Speed Limit 25, and sold t-shirts, exceeding its fundraising goal of $1,500. The money will go to the Thai Youth AIDS Prevention Project that educates youth about the disease, according to Chiang. Over the course of four months, the club has done a lot of advocacy work, but it could not carry out bigger projects that it had originally planned, Rao said.

“Since we started so late in the year, we were not able to throw the joint dance with Gunn that we wanted to, so we are planning on that for next year,” Rao said.

Nonetheless, club adviser Kindel Launer is very satisfied with NGC’s accomplishments.

“I am very impressed by their work,” Launer said. “NGC is a strong group of students who are very focused and enthusiastic.”

Composed of 30 sophomore girls, NGC hopes to expand soon.

“Everyone should join NGC because not only are we doing something great and helping out those in need, but we do it in fun and creative ways,” Chiang said.

Next year, the club plans to shift its focus to alleviating global warming and collaborating with the Gunn NGC to hold bigger events.

“We have lots of other ideas, but I will leave those as a surprise,” Rao said.