NEWS RELEASE
BRACELET OF HOPE
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Local charity Bracelet of Hope will host its 8th annual gala on Nov. 30 celebrating the United Nations theme of communities making a difference for those affected by HIV and AIDS. The Gala will be held on Nov. 30, one day before World AIDS Day, at the Frank Hasenfratz Centre for Excellence in Manufacturing in Guelph, Ontario.
“The Guelph community is a proven part of the global response to AIDS. We are ordinary people choosing to do extraordinary things at a time when the world desperately needs to see not only our effort but our success. We can end AIDS in the African country of Lesotho and in so, we are making a lasting and indelible contribution to ending AIDS worldwide,” says Dr. Anne-Marie Zajdlik, Founder of Bracelet of Hope.
Lesotho, Africa remains to be one of the countries most devastated by HIV/AIDS in the entire world. One in four people are living with HIV and there are currently 200,000 children who have been orphaned by it. Since 2005, Bracelet of Hope and the Guelph community have been working together to tackle the barriers to treating and preventing HIV in Lesotho.
This World AIDS Day the United Nations wants to draw focus to the vital role that communities play in the global response to AIDS. In announcing this year’s theme, “Communities Make the Difference," the UN states that a “greater mobilization of communities to help those affected and reduce stigma is urgently required."
At the event, guests will be treated to cocktails & hors d’oeuvres, a sit-down dinner and live music. Participating in silent and live auctions along with other fundraising activities, guests will raise much-needed funds to support Bracelet of Hope’s mobile health units which deliver HIV testing and treatment to rural populations. This passionate network of Gala goers raised over $80,000 at last year’s event alone.
Bracelet of Hope is setting out to raise $100,000 at this year’s event to expand its mobile health unit program. If you are unable to attend the event, you can still help it reach this goal by donating online.
The 8th Annual World AIDS Day Gala is locally sponsored by Armactool Inc, Dr. Arthur J. & Shelley Hilliker, Guelph Animal Hospital, Hope Clinic, Hope Health Centre, Peter A McSherry Law Office, Prime Care Pharmacy Arboretum, Scott and Kelly Hunter including presenting print sponsor, K H & A Printing INC, presenting wine sponsor, Trail Estate Winery and presenting beer sponsor, Wellington Brewery.
For more information on the 2019 World AIDS Day Gala, FAQs, registration or donations visit the website.
Bracelet of Hope is a Guelph-based grassroots charitable non-profit committed to ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Lesotho, Africa. They are unique as a Guelph organization in that their efforts here bear fruit in a country that is 10,000 km away. They are just about to expand their efforts in Lesotho, reaching out and providing HIV and primary care to tens of thousands of people in remote areas who would otherwise be without this care.
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