The Institute for HIV/AIDS Hope International (HIVHope) began in 1988 as the American Institute for Teen AIDS Prevention (AITAP). The original purpose was to develop HIV prevention education materials for use in the high schools and middle schools of the United States. AITAP also presented motivational assembly programs throughout the US for students in grades five through twelve as well as trainings for educators and parents and other adults.

In 2005 the name was changed to HIVHope to reflect changes in our work. Our field of work is now the world, not just North America and our target audience is no longer limited to adolescents but includes every age group.

The director of HIVHope was also one of the founders of AITAP. Duane Crumb has been involved in studying the HIV/AIDS epidemic and educating others about it since 1985.

His involvement started when he joined the staff of a member of the United States Congress. In addition to being his press secretary, the Congressman assigned Duane the responsibility of studying for him what was then the very new issue of HIV/AIDS.

After two years examining the subject from every possible angle, Duane left the government to join the staff of Dave Roever, a Vietnam veteran who speaks in high schools throughout the US. At Dave’s urging Duane put his knowledge of the epidemic to use to develop educational materials for the schools of America. This quickly expanded into Duane traveling throughout the United States presenting motivational HIV/AIDS education assemblies.

He has now spoken to more than 800,000 students in schools in thirty eight states in addition to numerous trips to Africa and Asia. He was one of the original members of the International Society for HIV/AIDS Education and a peer reviewer for the society’s professional journal. He has developed HIV/AIDS Education materials used throughout the US and in a number of other countries.

In 1988 he and Roever founded the American Institute for Teen AIDS Prevention and Duane became its executive director. In 2005, he moved his family to Fort Myers, Florida, where New Mission Systems International has its headquarters.

The HIVHope team works around the world empowering and equipping nationals to develop ways to motivate their countrymen to make the choices that keep them free of infection and encouraging people and organizations to actively reach out to help meet the needs of those living with the virus (including their families and the orphans they leave behind).