In Focus #13: August 2001

Project Inform Welcomes Three New Board Members

Project Inform welcomes Alonzo Reese, who joined in February. Alonzo is a co-founder of Lesbians and Gays of African Descent for Democratic Action (LGADDA) and currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Vanguard Public Foundation. Alonzo has a particular interest and expertise in how legislation and politics play a major role in the decisions that impact people with HIV/AIDS and their communities.

“I have supported Project Inform for many years,” says Alonzo. “Project Inform has been at the forefront of creating change and providing services that affect me, my friends and family. I decided to join the Board in order to partipate in the decision-making process. I plan to focus on enhancing Project Inform’s message and impact in communities of color.” Welcome, Alonzo!

In May, the Board elected Jerry Bezaire as its newest volunteer representative. Jerry has been involved at Project Inform for four years. Currently a Hotline Operator, Jerry has also worked with the Outreach and Education staff. Most recently, Jerry began coordinating the monthly Hotline Study Group to discuss topics of interest and concern to Hotline operators. “I feel called to this work,” says Jerry. “I hope to be able to listen, do the job with love, and to leave nothing unfinished.” Welcome, Jerry!

Steve Lew joined the Board in June and has been involved in HIV services and advocacy for most of the last 15 years. Steve helped to form GAPA Community HIV Project—the first HIV agency in the country to support gay and bisexual Asian and Pacific Islander men. Currently, Steve is a staff consultant at CompassPoint, a nonprofit consulting and training organization. Steve works with the boards and staffs of nonprofit organizations, and directs a capacity building program with people of color HIV organizations.

“I joined the Board because I wanted to be part of an organization that has had such a positive impact on people with HIV and AIDS,” says Steve. “I believe Project Inform has had a profound impact on the way government and pharmaceutical companies respond to people with HIV, and on the way that people with HIV see themselves—as advocates, and decision makers in their own treatment.” Welcome, Steve!

Project Inform’s AIDS Walk Team Largest to Date

On Sunday, July 15, Project Inform’s contingent in the annual San Francisco AIDS Walk hit an all-time high with 42 on the team. A record amount was raised at the Walk—over 25,000 walkers and 300 teams raised more than $3.8m. Everyone enjoyed a continental breakfast at our team table and a picnic lunch after the walk.

The annual walk, coordinated by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, benefits over 30 local AIDS service organizations. Project Inform is one of this year’s recipients. Pledges can still be collected and turned in for inclusion in the final total.

Executive Director Ellen LaPointe represented Project Inform at the beneficiaries breakfast and opening ceremony. Others were on hand to lend their support, including staff members Jason Alley, Mark Owens, and Judy Leahy and her two children. A huge thanks goes to volunteers Micah Priddy, Steve Eubanks and Fred Fagerlund for helping with set-up and breakdown.

Project Inform Bids Farewell to Staff

This summer, Project Inform loses four staff to the pursuit of higher learning. Angela Garcia, Director of Project Wise since 1998, left to pursue a PhD at Harvard’s School of Social Medicine. Sana Chehimi, Outreach and Education Associate, will pursue her Master’s Degree at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. She will focus on health and social behavior with an emphasis on international health.

Doug Ronning, Constituent Services Associate, left to obtain his teaching credential at SFSU and will seek a teaching position in high school English. Esmeralda Pereira, Volunteer & Intern Services Associate, left to attend Harvard’s School of Public Health, also to pursue a Master’s Degree.

We thank each of them for their significant contributions to Project Inform. Although we are sad to see these staff go, we’re proud to see them move on to exciting new opportunities and wish them the best of luck!

2001 Evening of Hope Marks a New Venue, New Format!

Tuesday, October 2 in San Francisco
Merchant’s Exchange Ballroom, 6-9pm

This year’s San Francisco gathering will bring a new venue and new format of cocktails, sumptuous buffet, silent auction, and entertainment by special guests. Both new and longtime Project Inform supporters will come together for an evening of camaraderie and conversation to support one of the nation’s most trusted and well-respected AIDS service organizations.

Wednesday, November 14 in Los Angeles,
The Beverly Hills Hotel, Sunset Boulevard
6:30pm Reception; 8:00pm Dinner

Confirmed honorees in LA include longtime Project Inform supporters Barry Krost, Hollywood producer and manager; Brenda Freiberg, former Assistant Mayor of Los Angeles and Project Inform Board member; and comedian and AIDS activist Bruce Vilanch.

Project Inform is pleased to recognize Macy*s West with this year’s Corporate Leadership Award. Since 1988, Macy*s Passport events alone have distributed over $13 million to community-based AIDS organizations.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. Invitations will arrive a month prior to both events. For more information, please call 415-558-8669 x223.

Seventh Annual Ron Wilmot Bike Ride Another Resounding Success

Another record-breaking year for Project Inform programs

Project Inform thanks the 104 registered riders, their hundreds of friends and the other individuals and organizations who made the seventh annual Ron Wilmot Bike Ride a grand success. This year alone, riders raise a record-breaking $69,063 and donations are still being received. In addition, over $20,000 in goods and services was donated by local businesses. Executive Director Ellen LaPointe said, “An important facet of the success of this grassroots Bike Ride is that total costs were held to about 5%—less than $4,000.”

San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno joined the crowd for the pre-ride breakfast nosh and photo-op before sending the riders on the scenic, seven-mile jaunt through Golden Gate Park.

Ron Wilmot, an HIV/AIDS activist, avid cyclist and long-time Project Inform supporter, started the Ride in 1995. Since then over $430,000 has been raised.

Ron’s mother Pat Wilmot and his sister Pam Perillo and her family came from Chicago to participate, as they have for many years. Pam confessed, “No, I’m not a natural-born cyclist, but it’s important for us to continue the Ride in Ron’s name and in his spirit.”

This year’s outstanding success could not have happened without the generous support of our sponsors: Roche, American Airlines, and SF Frontiers News Magazine. The Positive Pedalers bike club supported the event, and several members joined to raise funds and promote the Ride.

Seven company teams joined this year, fundraising as a group and riding the entire course: the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, local retailer wOrldware, Zephyr Real Estate, the Perillo Family, Kaiser Permanente, the Project Inform Hotline Volunteers and Ellen LaPointe’s Chick Posse. Generous donations made by these and other businesses helped cover administrative costs.

Many riders went home with terrific raffle prizes, including a 5-night dream vacation for two to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, courtesy of American Airlines and the Inn at Blackbeard’s Castle; weekend getaways to the retro-chic Orbit In Palm Springs, historic Parker House Guesthouse in San Francisco and Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe; and dinners for two at local restaurants. Extra thanks go to local cycle shops Foxy Flyer and Castro Cycle Crafters who sponsored the popular tune-up tent on ride day and donated an awesome specialized mountain bike as a raffle prize.

Ron Wilmot Bike Ride Supporters

Company Teams
Kaiser Permanente
Morrison & Foerster
The Perillo Family
Project Inform Hotline Volunteers
wOrldware
Zephyr Real Estate
Ellen LaPointe & her Chick Posse

Sponsors
American Airlines • BTG Pharmaceuticals • Kathy Bailey & Jen Bergerson • Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe • The Perillo Family • Roche Pharmaceuticals • Safeway • SF Frontiers News Magazine • Jeff Wiggins • Pat Wilmot

Special Thanks
2223 Restaurant • Bagdad Cafe • Bi-Rite Market • Buffalo Foods • Castro Cycle Crafters • Cole Hardware • Curtis Ingraham • Foxy Flyer • Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe • Just Desserts • La Méditerranée • Masa’s • Jack McCarty and Bill Scott • Millennium • Noah’s Bagels • Nob Hill Noshery • Orbit In Palm Springs • Palm Springs Aerial Tramway • Parker House Guesthouse • Peet’s Coffee and Tea • PlanetOut Partners and gay.com • Plumpjack Café • Positive Pedalers • Real Food • Ramblas • Shame On the Moon Restaurant • South Park Café • Thirsty Bear • Tom’s Cookies • Virgin Megastore • wOrldware

Many more thanks to our 104 riders

New Online Partnership to Benefit Project Inform

Project Inform is pleased to announce a partnership with www.justrubbers.com, the online condom store whose mission is to offer a “discrete professional service, providing exceptional products at an excellent value.” This partnership offers you a unique way to purchase condoms and donate to Project Inform.

When you’re done choosing your online order, proceed to the online checkout. Once there, you’ll have the opportunity to designate $1 to Project Inform—each time you order!

No personal information is disclosed on their website, and your order—shipped within 24 hours Monday-Friday via USPS or UPS—will arrive in a plain package. Visit www.justrubbers.com to read customer comments and to review a selection of condoms and other products. And don’t forget to designate $1 to Project Inform!

Martin Delaney Featured on ABC’s Nightline

On June 8, ABC’s Nightline host Ted Koppel marked the 20th anniversary of the U.S.’s first reports of AIDS-like illness with a discussion of the status of the domestic epidemic. Gathered for the half-hour long discussion were Martin Delaney, Project Inform Founding Director; Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Ray Louis Thornton, a woman living with AIDS.

Nightline selected these three individuals as they have contributed to Nightline many times over the course of the past twenty years, and provided a long-term perspective on the epidemic. The conversation focused on the progress in therapy; the problems of drug side effects, adherence, and resistance; and the continuing disparities over access to treatment and care—even within the U.S.

“Nightline has done a better job than most tv news shows of covering the AIDS epidemic,” says Martin. “It has devoted itself to the topic many times over the years and once held a live Town Meeting on AIDS that remained on-air for several hours.”

“Nightline has always sought to present a balanced viewpoint,” Martin continued, adding “rather than focusing solely on the more sensational aspects as some media do. The overwhelming issue of aids in developing nations was too large to address intelligently in the allotted time, so it was reserved for a future show.”

Project Inform Attends New Conference in Buenos Aires

In July 2001, staff from Project Inform joined over 3,000 researchers, clinicians and community members at the first International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis and Treatment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This conference provided a forum to present the latest findings in HIV research and to put into context how some of these results can be applied in the developing world.

As more people in the developing world have access to anti-HIV drugs, it becomes increasingly important for these types of conferences to take place. It is here that researchers, clinicians and patients can have access to the latest treatment information.

“Although the meeting served more to update our knowledge of ongoing research rather than announce any new breakthroughs, it was very important for a number of reasons,” says Ben Cheng, Director of Antiviral Advocacy for Project Inform. “The extensive involvement of South American, Latin American, Australian and Asian researchers and physicians was a critical step in getting U.S. scientists to work on AIDS as a global problem.”

Look for a report of the meeting in the next issue of PI Perspective and online.