WORLD AIDS DAY AWARENESS AND EVENTS SLATED FOR DECEMBER 1
World AIDS Day will be commemorated on December 1 with a variety of awareness and testing events scheduled, the Arkansas Minority Health Commission’s (AMHC) HIV/AIDS Prevention Coalition has announced. The Coalition has partnered with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) in bringing greater awareness to World AIDS Day.
“The joint effort between the AMHC and ADH is geared towards creating greater awareness of the need for all of us to know our status when it comes to this disease,” said Idonia L. Trotter, Executive Director of the Arkansas Minority Health Commission. “In 2008, although Black Arkansans made up only 16% of the total state population, they represented more than 47% of all new HIV infections and 36% of all new AIDS cases for that year,” Trotter said.
Leading up to World AIDS Day, a testing event will take place on November 24 and 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Individuals can be tested for HIV/AIDS in the Donaghey Student Center, Room 201T.
On November 29, churches in seven Arkansas counties will host “Compassion Sunday.” Congregants will learn about HIV/AIDS in these churches located in Crittenden, Jefferson, Mississippi, Phillips, Pulaski, Union and Washington counties. These seven areas are among the top counties in the state that report higher incidences of HIV.
Confirmed churches that will participate in “Compassion Sunday” include:
On December 1, a press conference will take place at 12 Noon on the campus of Philander Smith College. The winners of the first World AIDS Day Essay and Poster Contest will be announced and will read or display their work. The press conference will conclude with a balloon releasing ceremony to commemorate the lives of those who have succumbed to HIV/AIDS.
Later that day, Sheryl Lee Ralph, an award-winning actress and AIDS activist, will perform “Sometimes I Cry” from 7 to 9 p.m. at Wildwood Park for the Arts, located at 20919 Denny Road in Little Rock. Ralph wrote the show, which was inspired by the real life stories of women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Other awareness and testing events, locations and times are as follows:
Testing events
- House of Vision (Little Rock)
- University of Arkansas at Little Rock
- University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
- Philander Smith College (Little Rock)
- El Morocco Club, located at 2607 West 10th Avenue in Pine Bluff, from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
- Pulaski Tech at the Center Campus Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (December 1 and 2 in Little Rock)
- Jones Center (Room 217), located at 922 Emma in Springdale
- Alliance on Community Health (El Dorado)
Awareness/education
- L.V. Floyd Community Outreach Center (Blytheville)
Balloon Release
- UAPB
- Philander Smith College
- L.V. Floyd Community Outreach Center
- Arkansas AIDS Foundation on campus of Pulaski Tech
- Center for Nonprofits at the JTL Shop, located at 614 East Emma in Springdale
Symposium
- Presented by Future Builders, Inc. starting at 1:00p.m. at Philander Smith College
Established in 1988 by the World Health Organization, World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1st. World AIDS Day provides governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals with an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic.
Over a million Americans are estimated to be living with HIV. Worldwide, an estimated 33 million people are living with HIV.
For more information about World AIDS Day events and activities, contact Patricia Minor at 877.264.2826 or patricia.minor@arkansas.gov. Visit www.arminorityhealth.com to learn more about the Arkansas Minority Health Commission’s HIV/AIDS Prevention Coalition.
The Arkansas Minority Health Commission and Arkansas Department of Health
presents
“Sometimes I Cry” Written and Performed by Sheryl Lee Ralph on Tuesday, December 1, 2009
from 7 to 9 PM.
For more information about this event and tickets contact the Arkansas Minority Health Commission at
1-877-264-2826.
