Changing Lives

Annually, NAF, through our expanding network of Community Partnerships, impacts thousands of people across the country. Below is a collection of thoughts, testimonials, and personal stories from those we impact.

“My years with the National AIDS Fund AmeriCorps/Caring Counts program truly changed my life and started me on my path of service.”

Charlie Russell,
Alumni, AmeriCorps/Caring Counts Program

“The AIDS Foundation of Chicago is making enormous progress in the fight against AIDS, and simply could not do our important work without NAF support and leadership.

To me, the Fund is about leadership and partnership-the two key ingredients to winning the war against HIV. The beauty of the NAF model is that it is not a one-size-fits-all approach. NAF allows AFC and its other community partners to target resources where we need them most.”

Jacob Smith, Executive Director
AIDS Foundation of Chicago, National AIDS Fund Community Partner
Chicago, IL

“We have a disease that is similar to the lepers of long ago. Yet, not once did you make any of us feel like we were unwanted. With this (training) I became empowered as a woman and a 12-year survivor of AIDS. Hopefully, this enables me to give to others, the same way you helped me…for the first time I feel I am making a difference. That my life has a purpose!”

Cinnamen, First HIV positive woman to be appointed to Ryan White Care Planning Council
Grantee, Generations: Strengthening Women and Familes Affected by HIV/AIDS
California

“Las iniciativas que se han impulsado en Programa Compañeros para alcance de Mujer a Mujer han sido determinantes para llevar servicios a poblaciones en condiciones de vulnerabilidad que han impactado fuertemente en la incidencia de casos. Con estos apoyos hemos implementado acciones de mercado social para que los condones y lubricantes estén accesibles a las personas en riesgo sobre todo del lado mexicano de la frontera, me faltan palabras para describir este encuentro de voluntades, recursos, saberes vivénciales y científicos que dan atención a 2000 hombres y mujeres.”

“The initiatives that have been launched with Programa Compañeros for the Woman to Woman Project have been instrumental in the provision of services to a vulnerable population that has been heavily impacted by HIV/AIDS. With your support we have implemented social marketing activities so that condoms and lubricants can be available on the Mexican side of the border. I lack the words to describe the will power, means, experiences, and science that is concentrated for women.”

Megan Stevens
Border AIDS Partnership
Pasa la Voz de Mujer a Mujer

“Basically, without private funding there would be no needle exchange in the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia has the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the country (when compared to other cities with a population over 500,000) and 29% of those cases can be traced to a reused needle. Despite the demonstrated need and the proven effectiveness of needle exchange, since late 1998, public funding of needle exchange in the District of Columbia has been prohibited by the federal government.

With the support of the Washington AIDS Partnership and the National AIDS Fund, PreventionWorks has been able to continue these life-saving services in a city that desperately needs them. Two specific grants we receive from WAP and NAF cover two critical staff positions: The Program Manager who oversees outreach and maintains strong linkages with referral agencies (crucial because PW clients need access to drug treatment and a full continuum of care – syringe exchange needs to be part of a comprehensive network to be most effective); and the Community Liaison who focuses on improving the public understanding of the work that PreventionWorks does for the health of our neighbors and our communities. These two positions have been central to the strengthening of the services we provide and our status in the community.”

Leah Atkins, Executive Director
PreventionWorks!
Washington, DC

“The financial support we receive from the National AIDS Fund for the Katrina/Rita evacuees served by our agency allowed us to provide household goods, furnishings, and transportation, which we had no funding to provide. We were able to provide HIV+ individuals and their families with housing and some food, but we couldn’t provide other essential services until NAF came through for us.

Those dollars meant a family could have a dining table and chairs, some living room furniture, ands beds for all family members. After losing all their worldly goods and sleeping on cots at the Astrodome or George R. Brown Convention Center, having a furnished place of their own meant a chance to return to a somewhat normal life, even if it is in an unfamiliar city.”

Alexandra Andrews, President & CEO
AIDS Foundation Houston
Houston, TX

“Due to continued National AIDS Fund support, the San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative has been able to leverage money from local funding sources and fund innovative and effective programs that serve the multiple needs of HIV/AIDS infected and affected persons in the San Diego region.

NAF is the only national philanthropic organization that I know of that raises funds on a national level from a variety of foundations and corporations and allows decisions on how those funds are spent to take place on a local level. After years working in this field, we know that the most effective programs are ones that clients and providers design together. Support from the National AIDS Fund lets us continue this successful approach to grantmaking.”

Abigail Campbell, Program Officer
San Diego HIV Funding Collaborative
San Diego, CA