Alyssa Milano is always sticking her neck out for the underdog, whether it is an actual group of dogs who will be put to sleep unless she saves them or in the case of her latest campaign, a little heard of tropical disease which actually affects millions of people.Milano has partnered with do-gooder website Tonic.com to raise $75,000 on behalf of the victims of Lymphatic Filariasis (LF). LF, also known as elephantiasis, is found in many tropical climates and transmitted to humans through the bite of a mosquito.
You probably haven't heard about it even though it impacts over 120 million worldwide. If you have heard of elephantiasis it is probably from a joke in the movie 'The Breakfast Club.' (We won't mention it here since it is in poor taste, but it ends with Judd Nelson asking Molly Ringwald, "How does he ride a bike?")
Through Milano's work as the founding Ambassador for the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, she recently learned about a project in India that helps over 23,000 people suffering from LF by teaching them how to treat and care for themselves, literally putting them back on their feet. The program also educates families and the community about the disease to make it less stigmatizing.
"To keep the program alive it needs a major funding boost of $75,000. When you think about it, $75,000 isn't very expensive - only about $3.25 per person, per year - a small amount of money can make a huge impact," Milano writes on Tonic.com. "That's why, all this week, I've teamed up with Tonic, and the Global Network to ask all my fans to band together and contribute to this, the worthiest and most cost-effective cause we can imagine."
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