Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Calling all Ambassadors!

Are you ready to make one meal matter? During Dining Out for Life 2013, area restaurants will donate 25-100% of their day's sales to support The Damien Center and hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS right here in our community. 

With Dining Out for Life closing in on less than three months away, we're gearing up for the main event around here. Restaurants are signing up, sponsors are hopping on board, posters are being designed--the fundraising and marketing team is abuzz with anticipation over what's sure to be our best Dining Out yet.
 
Why do we say that? Well, last year, Indy's largest dining fundraiser (that's us, Dining Out for Life) raised $68,000, an incredible number that resulted from the commitment of 40+ restaurants, dozens of volunteers, and thousands of diners who went out on the town to fight AIDS. This year, our 19th Dining Out for Life locally, we hope to top that number. More restaurants, more volunteers, and more diners all add up to increased support for our clients and the services we offer. Ambassadors play a key role in helping to make Dining Out for Life a success and in raising money to support Damien Center clients and services.

So what's an Ambassador's commitment? You'll help us promote the event, build our relationship with your assigned restaurant, prepare the restaurant for success by delivering materials to them, and make the Dining Out for Life night especially meaningful for diners and the restaurant. In total, your commitment will consist of a four- to five-hour restaurant shift on April 25, one two-hour training, and time spent promoting your restaurant during the month of April.

Currently, our Ambassador Trainings will take place on the following dates, but if you'd like to volunteer and can't make one of these work, we'd like to work with you on additional sessions.
  • Saturday, March 30, 2013; 10am-12pm
  • Wednesday, April 3, 2013; 10am-12 pm
  • Wednesday, April 3, 2013; 6pm-8pm
  • Tuesday, April 9, 2013; 6pm-8 pm
This is your chance to get out in the community at your favorite restaurants and spread the word about an organization and a cause you care about! Don't worry, we'll make sure you're prepared. At your (required) Ambassador Training, you'll learn you how to promote your restaurants, receive talking points for the evening, and get all the promotional materials you'll need to get started. Ready to sign up? Just fill out our easy online form or download and return the paper version and we'll be in touch with event details.

Please help us make sure that no one faces AIDS alone by Dining Out for Life!

Friday, January 18, 2013

Back to Basics: HIV 101

There are certain things that we know about HIV that we hold close and turn to for support when we advocate for our cause. For example, here in Indiana, we know that 10,000 people are living with HIV, and that roughly half of those people are right here in Marion County. The CDC also tells us that one in five people (an astonishing 20%) who are living with HIV don't even know they're infected. Powerful statistics, no doubt. But let's get back to something even more basic, something that can help us all understand what we're fighting for and why we care about this issue. What is HIV, and what is AIDS?

Thanks to AIDS.gov, an official U.S. Government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, we've got an easy breakdown of answers to these questions.  (Just to be clear, the content below belongs to AIDS.gov. Please see .aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/ for more great resources and information on HIV.)

***
First, what is HIV?

To understand what HIV is, let’s break it down:

HHuman – This particular virus can only infect human beings.
IImmunodeficiency – HIV weakens your immune system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection. A "deficient" immune system can't protect you.
VVirus – A virus can only reproduce itself by taking over a cell in the body of its host.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a lot like other viruses, including those that cause the flu or the common cold. But there is an important difference – over time, your immune system can clear most viruses out of your body. That isn't the case with HIV – the human immune system can't seem to get rid of it. Scientists are still trying to figure out why.

We know that HIV can hide for long periods of time in the cells of your body and that it attacks a key part of your immune system – your T-cells or CD4 cells. Your body has to have these cells to fight infections and disease, but HIV invades them, uses them to make more copies of itself, and then destroys them.
Over time, HIV can destroy so many of your CD4 cells that your body can't fight infections and diseases anymore. When that happens, HIV infection can lead to AIDS.

Got it. So, what is AIDS?

To understand what AIDS is, let’s break that down, too:

AAcquired – AIDS is not something you inherit from your parents. You acquire AIDS after birth.
IImmuno – Your body's immune system includes all the organs and cells that work to fight off infection or disease.
DDeficiency – You get AIDS when your immune system is "deficient," or isn't working the way it should.
SSyndrome – A syndrome is a collection of symptoms and signs of disease. AIDS is a syndrome, rather than a single disease, because it is a complex illness with a wide range of complications and symptoms.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome is the final stage of HIV infection. People at this stage of HIV disease have badly damaged immune systems, which put them at risk for opportunistic infections (OIs).
You will be diagnosed with AIDS if you have one or more specific OIs, certain cancers, or a very low number of CD4 cells. If you have AIDS, you will need medical intervention to prevent death.

For more information, see CDC’s Basic Information About HIV And AIDS.

***

We'll pick this topic up again in a few weeks to talk about how HIV works in our bodies, how it's transmitted, and other important basics. The more you know, the better you can protect yourself and others, care for those who need support, and rally around the fight to end AIDS in our community.  

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

It's National Pizza Week!

Remember when Congress (almost) declared pizza a vegetable? Okay, okay, we know that's not really what happened, but in light of the controversy and the fact that it's National Pizza Week, we got to thinking about food, nutrition, and what all that has to do with The Damien Center.

Meeting basic nutritional needs is critical for our HIV+ clients, but with the high cost of medication, many people living with HIV can’t afford nutritious food. Having a balanced diet with essential macronutrients, calories, and micronutrients can greatly impact the body’s ability to fight diseaseespecially a relentless disease like HIV. Pile on top of that the difficulties of finding transportation, stable housing, a job, and so forth, and you can see why nutrition is an important piece of the puzzle for people managing HIV in their lives.

One part of the solution is our on-site food pantry, which is a licensed grocery. Coupled with nutritional support, our food pantry helps people living with HIV meet their unique needs. We strive to keep our selection diverse and nutritious, so in addition to non-perishables, we also supply fresh vegetables and meats to maximize our healthy eating options.

Hygiene is another piece of the puzzle. Good hygiene minimizes the risk and spread of disease and infection; because HIV compromizes the immune system, stopping secondary infections is an important part of what we do. To support good hygiene, our pantry also provides items like soap and laundry detergent that are not covered by food stamps.

So while we don't serve up pizza to food pantry patrons, we do try our best to support healthy eating and nutritious choices for our clients. Interested in supporting the food pantry? Check out some of our current needs and consider raiding your cabinets for a donation.


Monday, January 7, 2013

25 Stories: The Next 25

25 years. 25 stories. Throughout 2012, our 25th year of service to Central Indiana, we turned our blog into a virtual melting pot of stories about HIV. We told you about Rob, who worked tirelessly to help people with HIV get the medical care they needed, and Evelyn, who was there with Earl Conner when he decided to dive head first into the AIDS epidemic by opening The Damien Center. You read about Mark, one of The Damien Center's original buddies and a lifelong HIV advocate, and Dr. Woody Myers, who stood by Ryan White's side and fought the stigma associated with HIV in the mid-1980s right here in our community. We shared stories from Charles, Elizabeth, Robert, David, and a dozen more people who, in some way or another, have been affected by HIV.

Well friends, we've got a confession to make. We only shared 24 stories with you. No, we didn't get lazy or forget. We were saving it. For you. For all of us. Number 25 is something more - something collective and holistic. It's about what we're doing now that's moving us into the future, toward an AIDS-free generation and toward healthier, happier lives for those already living with HIV.

Our grande finale, story 25, is about linking people to the care they need, like mental health and substance abuse counseling, housing assistance, a food pantry, free HIV testing, and Care Coordinationservices that actually help lower the HIV viral load of our clients, improve their health, and make them less likely to transmit HIV to others. We think that's a story worth telling.

It's 2013 now, and we don't know about you, but we're chomping at the bit to see what the next 25 years will hold. We're ready to dream big, work hard, and make more history. Our 25th story is only just getting started. Will you join us?