Damienpalooza: Art + Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

According to CDC estimates, roughly 280,000 (or one in four) people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States are women, 15% of whom don’t know they’re infected. Damienpalooza 2014 will bring education and art under one roof as The Damien Center and collaborating artists focus the conversation on National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day through music, dance, theater, real-life testimonials, and more.

On March 8 - that's this Saturday! - we invite you to join us as we take in performances by dance company Create Freedom Arts Projects, local band I Dream in Evergreen, actress Ali Curtis of The Theatre Within, singer/songwriter Jamie Nichole, and spoken word artist Charlene White as well as the powerful story of Stephanie Brown from the Alicia Keys Empowered campaign. Stephanie contracted HIV as a young woman and has dedicated herself to fighting HIV and the stigma it carries. Inspired by art and moved by the stories of real women affected by HIV, we hope you'll leave empowered to take a stand for women and girls and informed about what they can do to fight HIV and its stigma in our community. 

The historic Athenaeum Theatre in Indianapolis will play host to Damienpalooza 2014, and the $5 admission fee as well as cash bar proceeds will benefit The Damien Center. Spirits Sponsor Ketel One supports The Damien Center throughout the year. We hope to see you there!  

Event                  Damienpalooza

Date/Time          March 8, 2014 at 7:30pm

Cost                    $5 (at the door)

Location             The Athenaeum Theatre, 401 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis 46204

Details                damien.org/damienpalooza       

It's National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

In 2013, more than 40% of individuals who got tested for HIV at The Damien Center were black.*

Black youth ages 13-24 represent 57% of all new HIV infections among young people.*

Blacks represent only 14% of the U.S. population, but 44% of all new HIV infections.*

Do we have your attention yet? Today is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and it's time for us all to take a closer look at how HIV and AIDS affect the black community. It deserves our attention. Whether you're black or white or Latino or from Mars, it's easy to see that this issue is important not just in the United States, but right here in our community.

Stigma, socioeconomic factors, high prevalence of STDs, and drug use are just a few of the complex issues that the black community faces in the fight against HIV.

Learn more and find out what you can do at blackaidsday.org/.

*CDC Fact Sheet - HIV and AIDS among African Americans

Dining Out for Life Call-out: Restaurants and Ambassadors, we need you!

In just over three months, you can be a hero. OUR hero! It's the 20th anniversary of Indy's largest dining fundraiser, Dining Out for Life, which raises much-needed funds to help us continue to fight HIV in our community and support those affected by it. Maybe you already know how it works, but if not, crash course: 40+ local restaurants sign on to give us a percentage of their proceeds (25, 50, or 100%) for ONE day (Thursday, April 24), and it's awesome. Hands down one of the easiest ways you can help us do what we do is just to go out to eat at one of our restaurants (check out 2013 participants here: diningoutforlife.com/indianapolis/restaurants). You don't even have to mention the event - our restaurants agree to give us a percentage of ALL sales on April 24.

BUT. We also know there are some of you out there who want to take your commitment up a notch, and for that we present: Ambassadorship. Ambassadors are our stellar volunteers who spend a couple hours on April 24 at one of our restaurants telling people about HIV and The Damien Center and helping raise additional moolah. If it sounds daunting, don't worry. As long as you can commit to a training session and a shift on the day of the event, we'll make sure you're equipped with knowledge, materials, scripts, and action plans to be successful.

And restaurant owners? You're another critical cog in this amazing Dining Out for Life machine. In exchange for your incredible generosity in giving us a percentage of your proceeds, we do everything we can think of to get your name out there. We put up posters, tweet out tweets, run ads, leverage our word-of-mouth network, and put our Ambassadors (see above) to work recruiting diners for your restaurant. And besides the warm fuzzies you'll get from knowing you did something pretty awesome for your community, we'd like to add that some of our established Dining Out for Life restaurants report that they're not only busy the day of the event - they also see a lot of return business from DOFL customers, who honor their community-minded spirit all year long.

Ready to learn more? Potential Ambassadors, learn more and sign up here: diningoutforlife.com/indianapolis/volunteer. Restaurant owners, here: diningoutforlife.com/indianapolis/sign-up-your-restaurant

Thanks in advance for being our hero!

News roundup: HIV in the headlines

We like to think we're pretty lucky. As an HIV/AIDS service organization, not only do we get to do meaningful work that makes an actual difference in the lives of people affected by HIV, but also we get to see changes happening in our field on an almost constant basis. Yeah, some of them don't pan out the way we think they will, but we're encouraged to see scientists trying new approaches to finding a vaccine or cure for HIV. We're also encouraged to see more and more people engaging with the cause to end HIV/AIDS and support those living with it, eradicate the stigma surrounding HIV, remember those who have lived and died with HIV/AIDS, and have tough conversations about sex, HIV, and how it all fits together.

We also know the news is hard to keep up with, so we're going to be collecting and sharing some top headlines for you more often in 2014. Our hope is that you'll take a few minutes to see what's happening with HIV around the globe. Please keep in mind that by sharing these links, we are in no way making endorsements.

Encouraging First-Year Results for the "Increasing Access to HIV Care and Treatment" Initiative
Blog.AIDS.gov - January 3, 2014

HIV returns in two patients after bone marrow transplant 
CNN.com - December 9, 2013

Life Expectancy for North Americans With HIV Reaches Historic High
TheBodyPro.com - December 19, 2013

New Studies Unlock Mystery Of How HIV Causes AIDS
HuffingtonPost.com - December 19, 2013

Women with bisexual partners account for new HIV cases: study
NYPost.com - January 1, 2014

Taking HIV prevention pill may not encourage risky sex: U.S. study
Reuters.com- December 18, 2013

Happy reading, and Happy New Year!

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

Cooking Up Some Fun: Chili Cook-Off, Round Three!

What goes better with a Saturday night in late November than 20+ crock pots full of chili? Raising money to fight HIV, of course! Coming up on its third year, the annual Chili Cook-Off is just two days away, and believe us, the chili is calling your name. There will be sweet chili, savory chili, hearty chili, meaty chili, and veggie chili, plus chili that will blow your idea of spicy out of the proverbial water. Which you will need. For the spice.

But don't worry, even if you don't dig the spiciest of spicy, there will be a chili for you. And just to add some old-fashioned competition, you'll also be voting for your favorites. Join us! Come to Indy's Kitchen, bring a suggested donation of $25, and eat until you're content. Beverages will be provided. Thanks to our host and generous board member Clinton Gruettert!

What: 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off (Damien Center Benefit)

When: Saturday, November 23, 7-9:30pm

Where: Indy's Kitchen, 2442 Central Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46205

More details and to RSVP

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!

Welcome, Damien Center AmeriCorps Volunteers!

This week, The Damien Center family welcomed three new members to our team to help us in prevention and testing, volunteer management, housing, and in our food pantry. Erin, Catherine, and Nahom are joining The Damien Center via the AIDS United AmeriCorps Program, a national AmeriCorps program focusing specifically on HIV prevention and care.

The Damien Center is one of seven cities across the United States where AIDS United AmeriCorps Volunteers work to fight HIV/AIDS, save lives, deliver resources, and support a range of HIV/AIDS service organizations. The program focuses on supporting these organizations while training the next generation of AIDS leaders. The Damien Center is one of several sites across Indianapolis where AIDS United AmeriCorps Volunteers are placed.

Erin Orme, hailing from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and, more recently, Loyola University in Chicago, is joining The Damien Center's Development Department to manage the volunteers that keep the Center ticking. Catherine Malin is from Illinois and is a recent graduate of the College of William and Mary in beautiful Williamsburg, Virginia. She will be working in The Damien Center's Testing and Prevention Department. Nahom Tecle, an Ohio native and Indiana University graduate, will be working in our Housing Assistance Program as well as our Food Pantry. 

We are thrilled to have these three incredible volunteers on our team! We look forward to seeing them grow as leaders while helping Damien Center continue as a leader in HIV prevention and care. Welcome, Erin, Catherine, and Nahom!