Annie Lennox, world-renowned signer-songwriter, will be the guest speaker at a charity dinner and auction run by Love Is All We Need on behalf of a community in South Africa in which 40% of people are HIV positive, with more than 5,000 orphans needing foo

PRESS DISPENSARY - Wednesday, Apr 14, 2010 - Love Is All We Need is delighted to announce that Annie Lennox and The SING Campaign will be supporting the Love Is All We Need Dinner and Auction on World AIDS Orphans Day, 7th May 2010.

As one of the world's most renowned singer songwriters, and a tireless campaigner against HIV/AIDS in South Africa, this support has the potential to make a huge impact for LOVE IS ALL WE NEED - a small charity (with a big heart) run almost entirely by volunteers.

During the evening Annie will be sharing her experiences in South Africa and her fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Annie has already raised 2 million dollars so far through her SING campaign. This campaign was started by Annie after she heard Nelson Mandela's sobering description of the African HIV pandemic as 'genocide', with women and children becoming the frontline victims.

Funds raised from the evening will go directly to Love Is All We Need's projects in the Sweetwaters Community in South Africa, a community in which 40% of people are HIV positive with over 5,000 orphans needing food and medicine.

"Access to treatment is a basic human rights issue. People do not have to die from AIDS." - Annie Lennox.

Quick facts

• Every 15 seconds a young person aged 15-24 contracts HIV.

• Every minute a child under 15 dies of an AIDS related illness.

• 56 million people are currently living with HIV in South Africa.

• 50% of children born with HIV die before the age of 2.

• Half of all pregnant mothers in South Africa are HIV positive, with treatment their children can be born HIV free.

Event details

• Friday 7th May

• 7 pm - Midnight

• The Conservatory

• Millennium Gloucester Hotel

• Kensington, London.

• GBP 80 per ticket/GBP 700 for a table of 10.

Notes for editors

Love Is All We Need started in 2004 when a small group of Londoners, passionate about helping South Africa's poorest communities, began collecting old computers for the Mdumbi Education Centre. It now has a team of more than 50 volunteers who give their time, expertise and passion! Love Is All We Need transforms lives and communities in sub-Saharan Africa that have been devastated by HIV/AIDS and poverty. Paid for through donations, it supports education, community and healthcare projects that empower people to break free from the devastating cycle of poverty and create a better life for themselves and their families.