Kim Kardashian Raises Money for 63,000 Days Worth of HIV Meds

As X17 repoorted yesterday, Kim Kardashian — who says she's been raising money for the RED campaign (the HIV fundraising organization founded by U2's Bono) — Snapchatted that she'd raised enough money to provide 63,000 days of HIV meds.

She didn't offer up a dollar amount, but RED's site says, "Life-saving antiretroviral treatments cost as little as 30 cents a day," which would make Kardashian's contribution worth less than $20,000 ( perhaps why she prefered to focus on the quantity of meds instead of the total dollar figure).

The media, however, pounced on the Kardashian who once "broke the Internet" with sexy photos.

"Sorry to be critical," X17 snarkily wrote, "but how does standing by some random woman getting her makeup done raise money for AIDS? How does Snapchatting ridiculous, insanely mindless selfie videos raise money for desperately-needed medication for Africa? How is she bringing attention to a cause? How is she encouraging others to participate? [A]re we interested in Kim K's charitable work when it involves going to a four-star hotel for 45 minutes, doing a social media post and then moving on?"

One imagines that the people getting those HIV meds feel differently.

To be fair to Kardashian, the two organizations she mentions RED and Omaze give money to HIV and AIDS causes for doing the exact kinds of things Kardashians are known for doing: shopping and self-promotion. They've harnessed some of our basest desires in order to do good.

In the past decade, RED has raised $350 million, much of it through the sales of products at corporate sponsors like Gap. Meanwhile, Omaze often auctions off time with celebrities, in their unique fundraising technique. Although they call it an "auction," it's really more of a raffle, where people pay a flat fee (as little as $10 each) to enter for a chance at a once-in-a-lifetime experience (like having Kim Kardashian give you a makeover).

Many people enter the auction, thus raising — well, in Kardashian's case $18,900 — for worthwile causes.  Omaze has inspired people from more than 170 countries to participate, leading to donations to 150 charities.

If we could all make money for HIV meds by simply doing the things we're best at, we might just get everyone on antiretroviral medication.  

So, Kim, by all means, keep being Kim.