Deshea Townsend (pictured), a two-time Super Bowl winner as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers and founder of the Pay It Forward Foundation and Football Day Camp -- now in its 10th year -- on May 16 took a public oral HIV antibody test to draw attention to the impact of the disease in his home state of Mississippi and to encourage others to get screened for the disease.

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Townsend took the test as part of the first annual Pay It Forward Health Fair in Batesville, Miss. The event stemmed from the football clinics Townsend began offering a decade ago for Mississippi youths to provide a fun, safe, one-day escape for them to learn fundamental football skills. The health fair was added to this year’s 10th annual Football Day Camp to promote disease awareness and screening among the youths, their peers, and their families.

Approximately 50 health fair attendees received free HIV screenings. OraSure, the maker of the rapid oral test, donated the test kits for the event.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mississippi Delta has the highest rates of heterosexually acquired HIV in the United States, as well as the highest proportion of HIV diagnoses among young people aged 13–24 years (18.4% of all cases). According to the Mississippi Health Department, there are about 8,800 state residents currently living with the disease.