Rubber Rover Touring Milwaukee to Promote Safer Sex

MILWAUKEE – May 30^th, 2019 –  Half of all sexually active people locally will get an STD before the age of 25, according to the Milwaukee Health Department. To bring attention to sexual health and help reduce the stigma associated with STDs, local nonprofit Diverse & Resilient is bringing the Rubber Rover, a condom themed vehicle aimed at increasing conversations about safer sex, to Milwaukee June 1^st -July 5^th.

The Rubber Rover is a mobile extension of Diverse & Resilient’s 414ALL campaign, which has been working to make condoms more available, accessible, and acceptable for teens and young adults since 2014.

Starting Saturday, June 1^st, the Rubber Rover will return to Milwaukee to help gear up for summer. Festival-goers can expect to play STD trivia to win custom condom apparel, snap a picture at the photo booth and receive one of the 30,000 condoms Diverse & Resilient will provide Milwaukeeans from the Rubber Rover over the next three weeks. Participants can also learn about safer sex resources, including STD testing locations throughout Milwaukee.

“STD testing and safer sex education isn’t just about the health of individuals, it’s about the health of our communities,” said Anthony Harris, 414ALL Program Coordinator, Diverse & Resilient. “The 414ALL campaign encourages everyone in our community start a discussion about STDs to help reduce the stigma associated with condoms and STD testing – and we’re so excited to bring our resources to people in the Rubber Rover this summer.”

Designed by local nonprofit advertising agency Serve Marketing, the Rubber Rover has generated buzz in both Omaha and Milwaukee and it’s back to do it again. This year, Rubber Rover will be utilized to amplify Diverse & Resilient’s 414ALL campaign in Milwaukee and reach a population that ranks first in the country for gonorrhea rates.

In addition to Pridefest and the Pride Parade, the Rubber Rover will be at Juneteenth Day Festival on June 19 and other stops around the city until July 5^th. For more information about the Rubber Rover and educational resources surrounding safer sex, STD testing and more, visit www.414ALLmke.org and 414ALL on Facebook.

About Diverse & Resilient

Diverse & Resilient is a local nonprofit whose mission is to achieve health equity and improve the safety and well-being of LGBTQ people and communities in Wisconsin. Since 2014, Diverse & Resilient’s 414ALL campaign has worked to make condoms more available, accessible, and acceptable for teens. For more information, visit www.DiverseandResilient.org.

About Serve Marketing 

Serve Marketing is the country’s only, all-volunteer, nonprofit advertising agency, whose mission is to give underserved charitable causes a stronger voice in the community. Founded by Milwaukee ad man, Gary Mueller in 2002, Serve volunteers have created behavior-changing public service campaigns for over 100 local and national nonprofits on issues ranging from teen homelessness, domestic violence and human trafficking to teen pregnancy, STD prevention and infant mortality. Causes that aren’t hot. That aren’t sexy. And that don’t have a lot of money. Serve’s provocative brand of work is sometimes controversial, but it gets people to notice and talk about these silent causes, which leads to an increase in awareness, volunteerism and funding. To date, Serve has donated over $18 million of in-kind creative, media, web, PR, print and broadcast production and strategic planning services to non-profits. For more information, visit www.ServeMarketing.org.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.