Founders’ Stories

UGA HEROs was created from the vision of two students who had separate experiences working with AIDS orphans internationally. Former student body president Garrett Gravesen lived in Kenya his final summer before graduating and witnessed one of the children he worked with lose his battle to the disease while he was there.

Garrett Gravesen

Later, AIESEC UGA president Ryan Gembala spent time in Brazil at an AIDS orphanage and worked with children throughout the summer.

Ryan Gembala

The two UGA students came together before graduating and created the idea of UGA HEROs. The organization would become UGA’s first on-campus fall philanthropy and hope to raise money for children in Georgia affected by the disease.

The two would later go on to create H.E.R.O. for Children, Inc. in 2003–the only non-profit organization in the State of Georgia solely dedicated to improving the quality of life for children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. H.E.R.O. has created the State of Georgia’s only mentoring program for Children with HIV/AIDS.