"I Dare Say It"

Triad Health Project's Director of Prevention Services Kevin Varner explains the positive byproducts of HIV status stemming from the support, community, and strength of living with the virus, both inside and out. 

"Coming together and supporting one another...as people with HIV and allies of people with HIV so that we begin how to teach a sense of self-worth...and, I dare say it, how to see HIV as an unexpected gift...that you never wanted, never thought would happen to you...and yet to turn HIV against itself, we must acknowledge its presence, listen to what HIV has to tell us about the importance of staying connected...and the importance of healing beyond the medicine we take every day." 

Come together with us during the 2015 North Carolina HIV/AIDS Advocacy Conference. 

A 15 Year-Old Lesson on What One Person Can Do

On October 17, 2015, the Alliance of AIDS Services – Carolina, Inc., in collaboration with Crape Myrtle Festival, the LGBT Center of Raleigh and the North Carolina AIDS Action Network (NCAAN) will host the 2015 AIDS Walk and 5k Run in Raleigh's Dix Park. This annual fundraising event that raises thousands of dollars to care for people living with HIV/AIDS. To learn more, visit the official registration site. 

In 1999, Dr. Trudier Harris didn't just raise over $17,000 for what was then called AIDSWALK, an annual fundraising event to support those living with HIV/AIDS in North

Carolina. 

Dr. Harris also penned a "how-to" guide to how she did it -- and in doing so captured what one person can do for worthy cause. 

An excerpt: 

"I wrote to family and friends. I placed flyers in the boxes of my colleagues. I put up posters. I left notes at my neighbors' doors. I made phone calls. I made speeches at church. And I took advantage of less conspicuous opportunities. For example, when I went into my dentist's office, I asked if he would contribute. He did so." 

What's most important to remember about Dr. Harris' highly-successful, one-woman fundraising campaign from 15 years ago, is that she was able to raise thousands before the age of vast email and social media networks. And, in doing so, laid the groundwork for today's activists to match and exceed her efforts -- all by leveraging the power of conversations, both on- and offline. 

So what are you waiting for?