Monday, March 28, 2011

Make your reservations now!


Dining Out for Life in a nutshell: eat out, fight AIDS. It's that simple.

Eat at one of our 45 participating restaurants, and 25% - 50% of your bill goes to The Damien Center. There's no code to mention, no special menus - just do what you would normally do!

Additionally, you can win cool prizes, like the Hoosier Park Package or the Celebrate Indy Package. These packages contain hotel stays, VIP tickets to Hoosier Park, IRT ticket vouchers, private happy hour parties, and more! All you need to do is fill out a form at one of our participating restaurants - no donation is required to enter. Just check the box, give us your name and some way to contact you, and you're entered into our drawing!

The following is a list of all our participating restaurants:

Premier Restaurants are restaurants who donate 50% of their day's sales to The Damien Center. Our Premier Restaurants include:

Legacy Restaurants are restaurants who have participated in DOFL for 5 or more years. Our Legacy Restaurants include:

Partner Restaurants are restaurants that donate 25% of their day's sales to The Damien Center. Our Partner Restaurantsinclude:
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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Welcome our new staff!

In the past month, we have been fortunate to have new hires to help with our expanding programs. We'd like to welcome Ronny, and Jeremy to the Damien family! For more information about these individuals, please visit our staff page.


Ronny deLuna:

Ronny has a background in administration and patient relations. He is fluent in Spanish and often serves as a translator for the departments he works for. Having worked with the MCHD and Wishard hospital, Ronny is eager to offer his experience to The Damien Center and its clients as the Administrative Assistant.


Ronny enjoys spending his free time with his partner, family and friends.


Jeremy Turner:

Jeremy serves as the Client Services Enrichment Coordinator. In the new position, Jeremy will oversee operations in the Damien Center's Coby Palmer Food Pantry, plan and execute client-centered events, and work closely with the Client Service Committee to ensure the ongoing collaboration between the Damien Center and its client base.

Jeremy comes to the Damien Center from other AIDS service organizations in Southern Indiana (AIDS Resource Group) and Western Kentucky (Matthew 25 AIDS Services.) Jeremy is a former Prevention Program Coordinator, Red Cross HIV 101 Instructor, certified Indiana HIV Testing Counselor, “Street Smart” certified program facilitator, “Many Men, Many Voices” certified program facilitator and a recipient of community awards and accolades relating to his youth-based HIV and Substance Use prevention programs. In addition to prevention efforts, Jeremy has experience in grant writing, event/ fundraiser planning and agency food pantry operations.

Recently having relocated to Indianapolis from Evansville, Jeremy looks forward to using his background to help enhance Damien Center clients’ overall experience at the agency. In his free time Jeremy enjoys jogging, playing the piano and performing. Be sure to stop by his new office in the food pantry to say “hello!”

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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

March Volunteer Spotlight - Betty S!

This month's volunteer spotlight is Betty S! Betty has been volunteering with The Damien Center since 2007 and has been very involved is us ever since. She has trained other volunteers and has been an active part of our outreach efforts, working booths at health fairs. She consistently works both the front desk and the testing reception desk, and she has been involved with both of our annual fundraisers: Dining Out for Life and Grande Masquerade.

Here's a look at Betty:


1. Have you ever held a volunteer position before?

For years I was a volunteer at Second Presbyterian Church, where I am now employed as a Christian Educator.


2. What sparked your interest in volunteering with the Damien Center?

In 1995, I learned for the first time that my brother was HIV+. Several weeks later, he was hospitalized with late stage AIDS. A friend brought me to the Damien Center’s support group, where I learned what to expect and how to respond to my brother’s illness. I could not have handled it without their help. During my visits with David, I was able to talk about difficult subjects. He was so afraid of being turned away, but he died knowing that all of us in our family loved him and always had. I am here to repay a long overdue debt to the Center for helping us give David peace before he died.


3. How do you hope to serve the community and our clients here at the Damien Center?

One thing I hope to do is raise the consciousness of the public about HIV and remove its stigma. I do that by teaching HIV 101 to students and volunteers and by answering the phone at the testing desk once a week. I also man the table at health fairs when my schedule permits. It’s a great way to meet the public and answer questions.


4. What has been your most memorable moment while volunteering at the Damien Center?

The real payoff is the relationships I build with the staff and clients at the Damien Center. That said, one of my greatest moments was when I won the costume contest at the Grande Masquerade in 2009. I couldn’t believe it! I will never forget having hundreds of gay men applaud when I stepped up as “Starlet O’Hara” in the green curtain dress. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would win against some of those amazing and complex costumes that appear every year. (Even if you don’t dress in costume, volunteering there is some of the most fun you will ever have. I highly recommend it.)


5. What are some attributes that you feel you contribute to the Damien Center and your assigned position?

A lot of people don’t realize that I am an introvert; but I am proof you don’t have to be an extrovert to volunteer. I am driven by a desire to make a change in the way people with HIV are dealt with by the public and by public officials. In my very small way, I hope to make a difference by respecting the dignity and humanity of those with HIV.


6. What are your hobbies and interests?

I work at a church and love astronomy--and thus have both a vocation and avocation that bring conversation to a complete halt. (“Look at the time!”) I’m a certified scuba diver in search of warm water. And I am a “token straight” contributor to The Bilerico Project, an online group blog for LGBT interests. I love my life and the people in it, especially my sweet and patient husband of 32 years and my two wonderful children.


Thank you so much, Betty!

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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

New Facebook Page

We're moving from our old profile to our new Page! This transition was spurred by Facebook's new update to Pages, letting us do more than ever before.

One of new Page features that we're particularly excited about is the ability to interact with other areas of Facebook as our brand. Before, this was something that was exclusive to profiles. Now, we can go to Indiana AIDS Walk's Page and let them know that Team Damien Center is going to be there! Our Page can go on to Like Nuvo, or tag GayIndy.com in one of our posts. Almost every reason that made us keep a profile is now made available to Pages.

But there's more. With a Page, we're able to surpass the 5,000-friend limit imposed on profiles, add and build our own apps, and get behind-the-scenes insights on who each of our messages reach. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

We'll delete our current profile once our new Page gains Fans and momentum, so be sure to Like our Page to get the latest updates in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Indianapolis!
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