Press room ... 2005 archive

Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation Announces
$50,000 Grant to Benefit Project Inform

February 7, 2005

San Francisco, CA—The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation announced today that it has made a gift of $50,000 in honor of Project Inform's 20 years of national leadership in HIV/AIDS research and treatment information, advocacy, and related public policy initiatives.

"Hope is what we so desperately need. We owe it to those who are sick just as we owe them effective treatments, compassion and support. We also owe them a decent country where no one will lack the knowledge and the power to make informed medical treatment decisions. We owe them medicines, health care, food and a roof over their heads because they have HIV disease. Until we reach that day when we can say we have achieved all that our work will not be done," said Elizabeth Taylor.

"Elizabeth Taylor is a true hero to all of us who have been fighting on behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS over the years," said Project Inform Founding Director Martin Delaney. "She recognized the significance of the epidemic from the beginning, and threw herself into the fight long before it was fashionable—or even acceptable in many circles—to do so. The depth and breadth of her contributions to making the world a better place for people living with AIDS have been extraordinary, and we are deeply grateful to her for recognizing the importance of Project Inform's work."

"The current political and economic climate poses the very real threat that we could lose the ground community advocates have gained for people with AIDS through decades of painstaking, hard work," remarked Project Inform Executive Director Ellen LaPointe. "In this context, Ms. Taylor's incredible generosity and leadership enables Project Inform to continue our work—work that has never been more important than it is today. As important, Ms. Taylor sets an example for others by demonstrating yet again that she is willing to come forward when it counts the most."

"We applaud Ms. Taylor and her Foundation for recognizing that our work remains as vitally important today as it ever has," said Project Inform Board President Stephen Suacci. "With Ms. Taylor's support, Project Inform will continue to provide a vision of hope for tens of thousands of individuals affected by HIV/AIDS who rely on us for information about optimal treatment strategies, advocacy to expand access to treatment and care, and our commitment to move the research agenda forward in the quest for better treatments and ultimately, a cure."