Articles tagged with: Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s)
World AIDS Day 2011: Aiming for zero
World AIDS Day is Thursday, December 1. The Four A’s and the Interior AIDS Association have organized events including candlelight vigils in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
World AIDS Day is celebrated on December 1 each year around the world. It has become one of the most recognized international health days and a key opportunity to raise awareness, commemorate those who have passed on, and celebrate victories such as increased access to treatment and prevention services. Events including candlelight vigils are scheduled in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
More than one million people are living with HIV in the U.S., and more than one in five (21%) of them are unaware of their infection, according to estimates of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s) reports that there have been 1,394 reported cases of HIV infection in Alaska since 1982. In 2010, 38 Alaskans were newly diagnosed with HIV.
Internationally, the theme of World AIDS Day for 2011 to 2015, as decided by the World AIDS Campaign’s Global Steering Committee, is Getting to Zero: zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, and zero AIDS-related deaths. The Four A’s has joined in with this theme, declaring its own theme this year as Aim for Zero:
We are aiming for zero stigma, zero discrimination, zero risk, zero new cases and most importantly, zero deaths.
The Four A’s and the Interior AIDS Association have organized events including candlelight vigils in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.
Anchorage
Join us at Four A’s for a night of awareness and a candlelight vigil. Following the vigil from 9 to midnight, there will a Condom Pub Crawl in downtown Anchorage bars, during which AMP and VOX will be distributing free red ribbons and condoms.
- Date/time: Thursday, December 1, 6:00–7:30 PM
- Location: Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s), 1057 W Fireweed, Ste 102, Anchorage, AK (see map)
- Further info: see Facebook events page
Fairbanks
Join the Interior AIDS Association, West Valley High School GSA, and the Pride Foundation for an evening in commemoration of World AIDS Day. Refreshments at 5:30; program including presentations from the West Valley High School GSA and the Pride Foundation begin at 6pm. The evening will end with a candlelight vigil at 7.
- Date/time: Thursday, Dec 1. Refreshments at 5:30 PM; program begins 6:00 PM; candlelight vigil begins 7:00 PM.
- Location: Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center, 101 Dunkel St, Fairbanks, AK (see map)
- Further info: see Interior AIDS Association Calendar of Events or the Facebook events page
Juneau
- Date/time: Thursday, December 1, 6:00 PM
- Location: Baranof Hotel, 127 N Franklin St, Juneau, AK (see map)
Alaska Pride Conference 2011: Welcome by Doug Frank
Doug Frank was a cofounder of the Alaska Pride Conference, first held in 1994, and is well-known for his decades of service to Alaska’s LGBTQA community. Doug provided Bent Alaska with a copy of the remarks with which he welcomed us to Alaska Pride Conference 2011, held this past Saturday at Alaska Pacific University. Thank you, Doug!
This weekend in LGBTQ Alaska (7/29/11): Fairbanks Ducal Ball & Hedwig’s last weekend
This weekend’s big events in Fairbanks are a late morning bar-hopping float down the Chena River and the Fairbanks Ducal Ball at the Blue Loon. In Anchorage, it’s the very last weekend to see Out North’s production of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Those events and more, plus a preview of what’s coming up next week.
This weekend in LGBTQA Alaska (7/21/11): Fairbanks Pride 2011, a Toyota for 4A’s, Summer Osborne, Hedwig, & Raja
Fairbanks celebrates Pride 2011; Four A’s needs your votes to get a Toyota; Summer Osborne performs in Fairbanks and Anchorage; and RuePaul’s Drag Race winner “Raja” appears at Anchorage’s Kodiak Bar & Grill. Those events and more, plus a preview of what’s coming up next week.
Vote July 22 to help Four A’s win a new Toyota!
Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association is One of 500 Finalists for Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good Program!
Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s) is proud to announce we’ve been selected as a finalist in Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program. Now we need your support! Vote for Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association at www.facebook.com/toyota on July 22, 2011.
A new Toyota would enable Four A’s to expand HIV/AIDS outreach and education beyond the urban center of Anchorage to rural communities. HIV stigma has a strong hold on rural Alaska, preventing most from knowing their HIV status or seeking services to reduce their risk. Most communities do not have free services, further limiting access. A mobile outreach vehicle would allow us to offer: 1) HIV education to schools, youth groups and anyone who wants it, 2) free HIV tests with results in 20 minutes, 3) risk reduction counseling, and 4) safer sex and harm reduction kit distribution. A new Toyota would be a critical asset in working towards reducing new HIV infections and eliminating stigma.
Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good program will award 100 vehicles over the course of 100 days to 100 deserving nonprofit organizations based on votes from the public. A total of 500 finalists were selected based on their application as reviewed by an independent panel of judges who are experts in the fields of philanthropy and social responsibility. They are vying for the opportunity to win a new Toyota vehicle. Winning organizations will use the vehicles to help expand their reach and mission within the community.
Please support Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s) on July 22, 2011. Voting will take place at www.facebook.com/toyota.
Update: “Well, the bad news is we didn’t win a new Toyota, but the good news is SafeHouse of Shelby County (Alabama) will have a new vehicle to transport women and children survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Congratulations to SafeHouse! Thank YOU for voting and showing your support for the Four A’s!
Watch the Four A’s video:
Here are some ways you can help Four A’s spread the word:
1. Encourage your friends to “like” Four A’s on Facebook.
2. Become a Four A’s Ambassador! Ambassadors will help us promote the contest within their circle of friends, recruit other ambassadors, get folks to sign up for vote reminders, etc… Contact Four A’s and we’ll let you know what to do.
3. Sign up for a vote reminder. Here’s how:
Go to http://apps.facebook.com/carsforgood/
Go to “view contestants”,
Select “Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association”
Then, click “remind me to vote this day”.
THEN VOTE on JULY 22!
4. When we post an update about 100 Cars for Good, please “like” or “share” to spread the word.
Thanks for supporting Four A’s!!
Drag Queen Bingo, or, how I learned I was part of something greater than myself
It’s times like these that we learn to live — Christopher Constant on Drag Queen Bingo and James Crump’s death at Pride: Everything we do should pave the way for a better world beyond the reach of our lives.
Don’t be a drag, come to Drag Queen Bingo
Alaska Pride Week continues with a Drag Queen Bingo block party! This year we are taking it to the streets – 4th Avenue between K and L Streets will be blocked off for all the fabulous festivities. Join Daphne, Ashley and the men of AMP for this Four A’s annual fundraiser.
Doug Frank: Grand Marshal for Alaska Pride Fest 2011
Doug Frank has been announced as tthe Grand Marshall for Alaska Pride Fest 2011. Alaska Pride Fest provided this biography documenting Frank’s decades of service to the LGBTQA community of Alaska, including his work with World AIDS Day and the Names Project Quilt, cofounding of the annual Pride Conference, and the 20012 Pride Month display at Anchorages’s Loussace Library.
Community Bake Sale to benefit the Four A’s
It’s time for Scott’s annual Bake Sale for the Four A’s, and it’s happening on Mother’s Day. So stop in and buy your mother a delicious treat, or bake your mother’s favorite dessert for the auction and raise money for AIDS services in Alaska.
“Please bring some yummy baked goods to auction/sell, or yourself to bid on sweet treats, or both! Check out the Live and Silent auction items, our special guest bakers, or just buy something yummy to take home from our buy-and-go table! This event benefits the Alaskan AIDS Assistance Association (Four A’s.)”
The annual bake sale brings out some of the best bakers in the community. If you like sweets, don’t miss it.
Date/time: Sunday, May 8, 2011 from 4pm – 7pm.
Location: Mad Myrna’s, 530 E 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK
Further info: See the Facebook event page.
Keep track of this and other events in LGBTQ Alaska with Bent Alaska’s new & improved events calendar.
Fetish Ball 2011
What’s better than having a fetish? Having a night devoted entirely to FETISH!
Saturday is Fetish Ball 2011: The Fall of Rome – Caligula’s Revenge. Come in theme, or as your own fetish. Either way, it’s a night you won’t forget. The people are the show!
The Fall of Rome – Caligula’s Revenge is Saturday, April 9 at Mad Myrna’s, beginning at 8pm. Admission is $15.
The Fetish Ball is an annual benefit for the Four A’s during their $1 Million Challenge food bank fundraiser.
