A look back at 2014 at The Damien Center

It's officially the last day of 2014, and we're officially running on adrenaline from all the exciting things that happened here over the past year! It was a busy one, and in the spirit of looking back in order to look forward, we put together this little Storify to help us out.

It's populated by photos from our Instagram, so if you like what you're seeing, hop on over and follow along for our 2015 adventures. Enjoy!

Top Posts of 2013

We've had a fun year with you, blog-readers. We've chatted about what pizza has to do with our food pantry, the 44 amazing restaurants that gave back through Dining Out for Life, and our insanely awesome volunteers, who keep things chugging along. Plus, we got excited about chili and tried to convince you to volunteer once. Okay, maybe twice. We also touched on some really serious and important topics, like what one incredible young woman is doing to fight HIV stigma in our community, how we're working to support high-risk groups, and what our strategy is for successfully preventing the spread of HIV and empowering those affected by it.      

So, we thought it'd be fun to look back and see what your favorite posts were this year. Take a read through these top posts, and then tell us what you'd like to read about in 2014. Enjoy!

Top Posts of 2013 

5. Forty Five Degrees, Yogulatte owner long-time Damien supporter - April 23, 2013

4. Go see Naked Boys Singing and support The Damien Center! - February 8, 2013

3. Costume Ideas: The Disco Ball Edition - September 24, 2013

2. Why Santorini Greek Kitchen gives back - April 5, 2013

1. Do you need to get linked? - May 30, 2013

McNamara and Bowman honored with Florence L. Elias Compassion Award

This year's Florence L. Elias Compassion Award for outstanding corporate giving went to long-time supporter and Grande Masquerade sponsor McNamara Florist. The award, which was given at the 26th Annual Grande Masquerade on October 19, honors an organization that has, in the spirit of Flo Elias, given generously to The Damien Center's mission. McNamara owners Toomie Farris and Michael Marcum accepted the award and are to thank for McNamara's ongoing support. Marcum served once again as Grande Masquerade Event Design Chair this year and created the incredible look of the event using thousands of flowers, disco-themed props, lighting, and more. He also serves on The Damien Center's Board of Directors.

As a Masquerade Ball Sponsor for this and past Grande Masquerades, McNamara gives generously to make the event truly spectacular and help raise funds so The Damien Center can continue to offer its services completely free of charge. Congratulations, McNamara, and we thank you for all you do!

Long-time Damien Center volunteer Larry Bowman received the Flo Elias Award for individuals in recognition of his 15 years as a volunteer at the Center. Larry provides haircuts to our clients and has a true passion for helping those in need gain a sense of normalcy in their sometimes chaotic lives. Larry turns our Client Enrichment Center into what feels like a local barbershop on the days he visits. His caring, giving attitude embodies the spirit of the Flo Elias Award: he gives to empower individuals to live each day with dignity. Thank you, Larry, and congratulations!

 

Thank you to our Grande Masquerade sponsors!

The Big Event is over, the disco ball has been lowered, and our sequin accessories have been packed away. But don't worry! We are still in full Grande Masquerade mode over here, which means we're adding up fundraising totals, writing hundreds of thank-you notes, and reflecting on how much fun we had raising money to fight HIV in our community. One of the things we LOVE to do both before and after the event is give our heartfelt thanks to our event sponsors, who truly make it possible for us to put on this event. With their support, we can pull off the grooviest Disco Ball in town and raise LOTS of money to further The Damien Center's mission (fundraising totals coming soon!).

Please join us in thanking this year's Grande Masquerade Sponsors:

Costume Ideas: The Disco Ball Edition

Here's the thing about fashion in the 1970s: it was all about personal expression. Brocade mini dress from Oscar de la Renta more your style than a gold, bell-bottom jumpsuit? Great. Rather sport a Farrah Fawcett feather than a fab afro? No problem. That's what we love about the '70s!

That's also what makes crafting a costume for this year's Grande Masquerade: Disco Ball a fashion challenge. But designers? We're gonna make it work. We've been pinning the heck out of disco hair, fashion, and makeup in hopes of helping all of us find the perfect-for-you disco look. A few of our favorites come from iconic 1970s looks, so keep reading for some serious costume inspiration. All the links below go back to our Disco Pinterest board, so click away!

• As the groovy Brady fam knows, COLOR is always a great disco look! Bright colors, fun patterns, anything psychedelic-looking - all are fair game for a classic '70's look. Even menswear, like this vintage Lilly Pulitzer jacket, took advantage of fun colors and quirky patterns. 

• Donna, Farrah, Goldie, Olivia, and so many other disco queens showed us that HAIR was another way to define your look in the 1970s. Soft, full-bodied curls, flicks, afros, and feathered, face-framing layers were all disco trademarks. Not into the long and flowy look? Twiggy's pixie cut redefined short coifs, and classic cocktail updos from the 1960s still had their place alongside '70s-era formalwear.

• Speaking of '70s-era formalwear, let's not forget to talk about JUMPSUITS. From the gorgeous Charlie's Angels to the classic LBJ (Little Black Jumpsuit), these fashion workhorses were a disco wardrobe staple. Think they've gone the way of platform saddle shoes? Think again! We love this modern jumpsuit look from Polyvore. 

• Okay, we know, jumpsuits just don't work for everyone. Take a cue from our favorite disco gal Donna Summer and find something that works for YOU. Donna rocked everything from leopard dresses in classic silhouettes to Egyptian pantsuits and barely-there sequin ensembles. (Sequins: another great disco look, along with metallics, a la gorgeous gold shoes, bronzey goddess dresses, and pants that shine.)  

• Gentlemen! We have not forgotten you. MENSWEAR was as diverse in the disco era as it is now, but with a whole lot more bell bottoms going on. We love the fitted-yet-flared look of these formal tuxes, while bold patterns, colors, and again, shiny pants, were also awesomely popular during the '70s. And really, let's not pretend like we're not inspired by this guy.

So, are you feeling better, disco divas? Stay tuned for another installment of our Costume Ideas blog post, and until then, stay groovy!

Four Reasons to Volunteer for Grande Masquerade: Disco Ball

With our 26th annual Grande Masquerade a mere two months away, we're starting to think about this (always epic) fundraising gala in real-life terms. We're shifting from loosey-goosey pipe dreams of glitzy sequins and shiny disco balls to the more important questions: How many glitzy sequins? How shiny of a disco ball? And who's going to help us put it all together?!

Enter our faithful supporters, our behind-the-scenes superheroes: our volunteers. Every year, dozens of volunteers sign their lives away for a few hours (okay, but we feed them, so don't worry) to help us set up, get people registered, run our live and silent auctions, answer our guests' questions, run random errands, check people out at the end of the night, tear down, and oh so much more. They are truly our lifeboats during this event, and this year, you can join the ranks!

Here's why you should volunteer for Grande Masquerade Disco Ball: 

4. Obviously, you're helping us out, and you can feel good about that. Last year, the event raised more than $178,000, and we have volunteers to thank for helping us accomplish that. Being a part of our success means you're helping us fight HIV/AIDS and care for those affected by it.

3. If the feel-good factor isn't enough to make you want to give up a Saturday night, look at this way: volunteering is good for your soul, yes, but it's also good for your resume, scholarship apps, class requirements, and more. We want our volunteers to get something out of it, too, so we're happy to help you accomplish your goals while you're helping us accomplish ours.

2. Two words: People. Watching. Our guests come in costumes, black-tie, and everything in between. Seeing what costumes and ideas our guests have come up with is so much fun.

1. You get to attend a classy, quirky, fun, disco-themed fundraiser without having to shell out the bucks to do so! Win win win win.

If you're at least partially convinced that you'd like to volunteer for what's shaping up to be a heckuva Disco Ball, get some more info and fill out our volunteer sign-up form. See you at the Disco Ball!

Disco Ball Roundup

With another successful Dining Out for Life under our figurative belts here at The Damien Center, our minds are already racing toward the next big thing: the Grande Masquerade! In case you missed our Facebook announcement, the theme for our annual gala fundraiser is going to inspire you to boogie, hustle, and cha cha the night away, disco style! We know it's early, but we're so excited about this year's disco-themed party that we wanted to share some links so you can get excited too.

• Check out our Grande Masquerade 2013: Disco Ball Pinterest board for disco attire ideas. Think of it as our virtual disco mood board. We're heavy on the Donna Summer pins, but really, The Queen of Disco is our main inspiration!

•  Interested in being a table captain and getting a group of friends, colleagues, or clients together for our disco gala? Find everything you need to know in our online Table Captains Toolkit.

• We're also on the lookout for sponsors for this year's gala. Logo recognition, tickets to the event, social media promotions, and other perks are included at various sponsor levels. Get all the details in our Grande Masquerade 2013 Sponsorship Packet.

Don't forget to save the date for the Disco Ball you've been dreaming about since 1976! Here are the need-to-know details, and when tickets officially go on sale, you'll be the first to know:

When
Saturday, October 19, 2013

Where
The Westin Indianapolis
50 S. Capitol Ave.
Indianapolis, IN

A Most Mask-tastic Affair

Sure, the Grande Masquerade has always been a masquerade ball. And sure, we all dress to impress every year. But this year, this year it’s all about the masks. Are you a DIY-er? Big spender? King or queen of the outrageous? Classic and simple? Never fear, Grande Masqueraders, we are here to answer all your mask-related questions, give you hundreds of mask ideas (Literally. We got a little excited about it.), and turn mask-hunting/creating/imagining into your newest favorite pastime.

So where do you start? That depends. Are you matching your mask to your outfit or your outfit to your mask? Big life questions here. In either case, we’ve got some ideas for where and how to procure a mask for this, the grandest of Grande Masquerades.  

DIY to the ma(x)sk
Do you have a glue gun, feathers, lace, paper, glitter, puffy paint, fabric, or any combination of these and other craft supplies? Then you, my friend, are on your way DIY mask-making. Since crafting can be a little intimidating for the less crafty types, we got on Pinterest and put together a Mask-spiration board with dozens of tutorials, blogs, and fancy pants masks. We also turned to our gal Martha Stewart, the queen of crafts, for a few additional ideas. Whether you’re planning on pinning a few feathers to a fabric mask cutout (sure to look more fabulous than the five minutes it will take you) or want to layer lace and glitter and crystals and paint and crepe paper and ornate who-knows-whats, DIY masks can be a fun project for a rainy Friday afternoon (hint hint).    

Swipe that card
Not inspired to DIY? That’s okay—we also pinned almost a hundred of the most amazing masks we could find on the interwebs. If you are a human being, we’ve probably pinned something you’ll like. Seriously, there’s a mask for every taste: ornate Venetian, Mardi Gras-style, classic and timeless, animal-inspired, masculine, feminine, devilish, steampunk, British-glam, woodland-themed, feisty, plastic, leather, moss (Yes, we found a mask made from moss. Thank you, Etsy.), one-eyed, two-eyed, no-eyed, full faced, colorful, metallic, and even hilarious (Angry Birds, anyone?). Etsy, the vintage and handmade mecca of the Internet, and Amazon, also a mecca though we’re not sure of what, both feature more mask options than you could imagine and are great resources if you prefer to buy your mask. Prices range from the cost of a latte at Starbucks to a tropical vacay. Want to go local or try it on first? Check out Margie’s Costumes at 38th and Illinois, any of the Party City stores around the city, or those Halloween pop-up stores that set up shop this time of year. And lastly, to take the worry entirely out of your mask selection, let us do the work. When you buy a Grande Masquerade ticket, just check the box to add a mask to your order and we’ll have it ready for you at the event.

Bring out your inner artiste
Okay, okay, so you’re not inspired by Martha, Etsy, or Amazon? We have one more fantastic suggestion for the mask-phobic: paint that mask right on your pretty little face. Check out our Pinterest board (one last time) for some beautiful facepaint/makeup mask ideas. Even something as simple as glitter and black eyeliner can create a mask-like effect. More elaborate masks may require a professional makeup artist or partner in crime to assist with application. You can find costume makeup for sale at any Halloween or costume store, or just get creative with all those M.A.C. colors you bought but never wear. Yeah, we know, they were in in 1995…

We’re here for you and your mask
Still need a listening ear to work through some mask ideas? We’ve got your back. Or face. Whatever. Your friendly blogess is just an email away: kcoon@damien.org. And don’t forget, Grande Masquerade ticket prices go up $25 in just a few short hours (at 5pm!), so snag those tickets online riiiiight now. See you on the 20th!

25 Stories: Bernadette Goes Uptown

In a few short weeks, we’ll be transforming the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott into a grand gala, a masquerade ball to celebrate our 25th year of service to Central Indiana, an evening to outshine all others. The Grande Masquerade is nearly upon us. With this magnificent [read: super fun and fancy] celebration just on the horizon, we thought it’d be fun to look back at the history of our fundraisers. Turns out, The Damien Center has a legacy of hosting rockin’ parties, performances, and other fundraising events to get the word out and raise money.  Tom Alvarez, one of our earliest supporters and fundraisers, sat down with us to talk about “Bernadette Galanti Goes Uptown for The Damien Center,” which was, according to Tom, as fantastic as it sounds.

At the time (late 80s/early 90s), Bernadette Galanti was a well-known performer at the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s Cabaret. (Yes, the IRT had a Cabaret. Yes, we wish they still did.) As a performer who had lived in New York City for some time in the 1980s, Bernadette knew people who had HIV/AIDS and was interested in supporting the cause, so Tom, a former television producer, enlisted her to put on a show for The Damien Center. “It was one night only," Tom says, “and it was a first-class affair all the way around.” As a result of her one-woman show at Broad Ripple’s Vogue Theater, Bernadette became very popular within the gay community and “became our local Liza Minelli,” Tom recalls. This event, he says, was one that helped organize and solidify the gay community “not only around the AIDS issue but by being public and by being out there.”

What did Tom and his fellow organizers learn from this, one of their first fundraising undertakings? Sponsors sponsors sponsors. “Most of the proceeds went toward the expenses,” Tom says, “so what we learned was that you really have to have sponsorships for those kinds of things. This was all kind of virgin territory, not only to us, but to the gay community in general.” And with that, we'd like to thank our extremely generous Grande Masquerade sponsors, especially our Event Presenting Sponsors, McNamara Florist and Marion County Public Health Department.

Now, back to the show. It wasn’t just for fun. Bernadette’s performance was, like other fundraisers for AIDS service organizations at the time, critical to how early activists were able to get the word out about AIDS in places like Indianapolis. “AIDS like in many other places, forced people to come forward and to come out, because it was very clear to us that if we didn’t, it was just going to make things worse,” Tom explains. “If we didn’t step forward to educate our community, the larger community, the epidemic would as quickly or grow more quickly.”

So, people like Tom stepped up and started to organize events like Bernadette’s show. Today, we have events like Grande Masquerade that continue the legacy of FUNdraising, bringing awareness to HIV/AIDS as a cause, and bringing people together in the name of a better community. So whether you’ve been around long enough to remember “Bernadette Galanti Goes Uptown” or are just getting your feet wet in supporting The Damien Center, we thank you and hope you’ll join us for this year’s Grande Masquerade on October 20.

Happy birthday to (all of) us!

Birthdays are good for celebrating, laughing, imbibing, indulging. You know the drill: cake, cocktails, loved ones, favorite places and spaces. But they're also good for looking back. Reflecting. Thinking about how far you've come and what you've been doing that matters to you and your values.

Today, I - Kimberly, your faithful Damien Center blogger and marketing coordinator - have been doing just that as I celebrate my 27th birthday. I've been asking myself, what have I been doing these last few weeks, months, and years that enriches my life and others', that makes my community a better place?

Here at The Damien Center, we've also been celebrating our birthday - all year long. It's our 25th year serving those affected by HIV in Central Indiana, and we're so proud of the legacy we have as Indiana's oldest and largest HIV/AIDS service organization. What we do and how we do it didn't start last year or last month. It started in 1987, when a caring, progressive group of people got together to support a community in crisis.

Birthday reflections, for us, have us looking at who we served, how we served them, and where our (your) funding dollars went. So, what have we been doing that matters to us, our values, and our community? In 2011, we:

• performed 2,315 free HIV tests
• reached 796 youth through prevention education
• served 1,126 clients through Care Coordination
• helped 96 families find housing
• fed 616 clients through our food pantry
• assisted 124 clients in receiving emergency financial assistance

And this is just the beginning. Birthdays are also for looking ahead to the coming year(s), planning for a strong future, setting goals, and living life. So as I and The Damien Center look ahead to our next 25 years, we hope you'll help us celebrate both where we came from and where we're going.

Looking for ways to honor our 25 year legacy? Make a donation, volunteer, walk with us in the 2012 Indiana AIDS Walk, or snag a ticket for swankiest gala in town, the 25th Annual Grande Masquerade.  

25 Stories: Bullwinkle's and GRID - Learning About AIDS in 1982

When Mark Lee, a young IU Hoosier with a painfully shy disposition, mustered up the courage to sneak into Bullwinkle’s one fateful evening in 1982, he had no idea his world would be turned upside down. Anxious about being carded and uncertain whether or where he belonged on the disco dance floor at one of Bloomington’s mainstay bars for the gay community, Mark turned to a publications rack for comfort and picked up the first thing he could find.

Skimming through an arbitrary publication, only half-focused on its contents, Mark’s eyes fell on an article about GRID (Gay-related immunodeficiency), a disease that would capture his attention for many years to come. Gay-related immunodeficiency, an early term for AIDS, was taking the gay community by storm, but fear was spreading just as quickly.

“No one knew where it was coming from,” Mark recalls. “They just knew that gay men in New York and San Francisco were dying of this horrible disease and that they were dying within six months of being diagnosed.”

For Mark, it was a wake-up call. Besides being his “first real experience in a gay bar or anything in the gay community,” Mark was drawn in by what he could do to keep himself safe in the midst of a national crisis. “I did a lot of reading,” he says. “I read everything I could on it: signs you might be positive, how to take care of yourself, anything.”

According to Mark, he came out just as the gay community was making a major shift. On the one hand, an era of promiscuity, bath houses, and anonymous sex was ending, while AIDS was only just beginning. “People started dying,” Mark says, “and then people started taking notice and taking care of themselves.”

Despite the initial fear and uncertainty, in the 30 years since Mark’s first foray into Bullwinkle’s, he’s become an advocate and activist for HIV/AIDS in too many ways to count. He was one of The Damien Center’s original “buddies,” a role in which he was paired up with HIV+ individuals to build friendships and develop a support system. More on that later. He also went on to work for Indiana Community AIDS Action Network and AIDServe Indiana and continues to support The Damien Center today. Though Bullwinkle’s closed its doors in 2006, the significance of Mark’s work in fighting HIV/AIDS and supporting those affected by it lives on.

Costume Ideas: Straight from Mad Men

Welcome to the Costume Ideas blog series! This series is intended to inspire your inner fashion designer so you can look like you stepped out of the 1950/60s when you walk into Mad Masquerade.


This week, we're taking a look at AMC Mad Men's Season 4 Fashion Gallery! The gallery showcases many fantastic outfits, but these are our top three.

1. Joan's "Wave" Dress: We love it! Much like Janie Bryant, costume designer for Mad Men, we're attracted to the ruffles at the collar and sleeve. We also love the high contrast between the darker blue and the white, creating a cleaner look. Accessories weren't emphasized in the 60s, and she does a very good job of keeping using the gold accents to enhance her look without dominating it.

2. Stan Rizzo's Suit: Even though it wasn't particularly characteristic of the early 60s, Stan did a pretty good job of being trendy with this green plaid suit. "He's one of our more modern characters who takes a casual approach to being at work," says Bryant. The late sixties was a movement away from the fifties - so while the gray flannel suit is the standard, Stan shows us that we're able to be more creative!

3. Faye Miller's Black and White: Her look is eye catching with the bold black and white print; her bold lipstick only helps to emphasize the overall look's strength. Her gray skirt is houndstooth, shown below and to the left.


For more ideas straight from Mad Men, please visit their Season 4 Fashion Gallery! (Of course, we own none of these images; they were taken directly out of the Season 4 Fashion Gallery. Many thanks to Janie Bryan for her inspirational vintage fashion!)

Mad Masquerade Costume Ideas

Welcome to the Costume Ideas blog series! This series is intended to inspire your inner fashion designer so you can look like you stepped out of the 1950/60s when you walk into Mad Masquerade.


Men in the 1950s and early 60s were very traditional; this was the era of the man in a gray suit. Coats were unwaisted with one or three buttons, typically worn with a white shirt, tie, and cufflinks. Other common suit colors were tan or navy. Pennyloafer shoes and a hat (usually a fedora) rounded out the look.


The mid-to-late 60s saw more diversity in men's fashion than ever - brighter colored dress shirts like plaid were more accepted. Ties were changing sizes (both to skinny ties and wide ties) with stripes and patterns - unheard of just a decade earlier. Suits became more tailored, thanks to Italian designer influence.


Where to find this vintage menswear? Try Banana Republic's Mad Men Collection, geared specifically toward the Mad Men look! (A promo shot from the collection can be seen to the bottom right.) They also have a pretty nice Mad Men collection for women, too! Other suitable options can be found at J Crew. (Picture top right.)


Are you excited about Mad Masquerade yet? Purchase tickets your tickets now - prices go up in just a few weeks!

Costume Ideas: The Cold War Woman - Grande Masquerade

Welcome to the Costume Ideas blog series! This series is intended to inspire your inner fashion designer so you can look like you stepped out of the 1950/60s when you walk into Mad Masquerade.

During WWII, society saw many men leave the country to fight, and many women stepped up and took traditionally male jobs. When WWII ended in 1945, the United States saw an influx of men returning to the workforce, pushing many women back into more traditional roles.

Because of this push, we see women's fashion in the 50s accentuate traditional femininity through tighter waists, wider busts, and curvy hips - in other words, an hourglass silhouette. Pencil skirts became popular in the workplace.

The early 60s followed First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; feminine elegance was the mantra. The First Lady popularized the pillbox hat, and dresses were simple and geometric. The sixties saw a distance from the more conservative colors of the 50s, enjoying brighter colors and bolder patterns.

But where can you find these clothes? Take a look at this magenta "Work to Wow" dress from ModCloth.com. Notice the hourglass shape; this dress could have been popular in the workplace. In fact, take a look at all of the 1950s/60s dresses from Modcloth - it's a great place for vintage-inspired clothing.

Also consider this black "Five to Nine" dress from Shabby Apple, another online retailer specializing in vintage-inspired clothing; taking a cue from Jackie Kennedy, this black dress features a thin collar, has soft shoulders, and a loose, feminine bow near the neck.

Mad Masquerade

Have you seen this year's Grande Masquerade theme yet? If not, it's our pleasure to introduce Mad Masquerade, held Saturday, October 22, at the Indianapolis Mariott Downtown!

This year's event takes place in 1950s-60s America. This post-World War II period marked the birth of cocktail hours, beehives, and Barbie. Elvis Presley ruled the stage, public fascination with Outer Space reached an all-time high, and Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. Elizabeth Taylor began her career, later championing the HIV/AIDS cause.

Does this sound like your cup of tea? If so, grab yourself some tickets! Prices go up $25 per ticket after October 14th, so be sure to get them early!

General Admission: $135

VIP: $175

Table of 10: $1350

VIP Table of 10: $1750

The VIP reception begins at 6pm, with general admission cocktails at 6:30. Dinner, silent auction, and entertainment starts at 7:30, with dancing starting at 10 and lasting until midnight.

For more information, please contact Brenden Hudson at bhudson@damien.org or at 317-632-0123 x237.