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Letter from CAP's New Executive Director
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I am pleased to introduce myself as the new Executive Director at CAP. These first 3 weeks have been like drinking from a fire hose. My first night on the job was the annual Art Auction. What an amazing way to get to know CAP's volunteers, board, staff, donors and friends!
I am joining CAP at a fascinating moment in history. There has never been a more hopeful time to be part of the HIV/AIDS movement. For the first time, we have a National Strategy to end this pandemic. In 2014, the Affordable Care Act will begin to insure more people than ever before, with a focus on prevention. This may lead to changes in important federal Ryan White funding after Sept. 2013, but those changes are uncertain. And thanks to medical breakthroughs, HIV is now a chronic illness.
But this struggle is far from over. Someone in America becomes infected with HIV every 9 ˝ minutes. In addition to HIV, we must now fight deadly complacency. 20% of people with HIV are undiagnosed, and many are diagnosed much too late. 50% of Americans have NEVER been tested. If we know our status, we can moderate our behaviors. I believe CAP can lead Oregon toward universal testing.
I believe that we have to dream big, then go out and do what we dream. I believe CAP can lead the Portland area in achieving the first AIDS Free Generation in the U.S. In order to do that, we will need greater public and private resources. CAP must be a leader on the national stage and should be recognized for having the best Board and staff in the area. We must end the debate of treatment vs. prevention once and for all and embrace treatment AS prevention. We must continue to lead on housing because we know that a stable, permanent home is a cornerstone to successful treatment.
There is no "magic bullet" to ending this epidemic. CAP must focus on improving every step on the "Treatment Cascade" so more people with HIV are on treatment with suppressed viral loads. Portland has led the way on many fronts over the years from the Bottle Bill to the Urban Growth Boundary to sustainability. With your help, WE can be FIRST in an AIDS Free Generation. This struggle is not over, but it is winnable. I want to celebrate with you when we find a vaccine and a cure. That all seems possible now. Together, we can envision a reality in which HIV and AIDS are no longer part of our daily lives, but only part of our history.
Thank you,
Glen Gilbert
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Amy & Freddy Come to Portland
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A Benefit for CAMP KC & OUR HOUSE
June 7th, 8th & 9th
Join us June 7th or 8th at the beautiful Melody Ballroom for a great evening of  music and comedy with AMY & FREDDY. Doors open at 7 PM, show at 8 PM.
For a more intimate experience, join us June 9th at the Chameleon Lounge (2000 NE 40th). Doors open at 6 PM, show at 7 PM. This event has limited seating.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here.
ABOUT AMY & FREDDY: Based in Chicago, music and comedy legends Amy Armstrong and Freddy Allen have graced stages coast-to-coast and in over 20 countries with their one-of-a-kind wit and musical prowess. They've had the pleasure of opening and sharing the spotlight with Kathy Griffin, Mary Wilson and the Supremes, Phyllis Diller, Bea Arthur, Jennifer Holiday, Judy Gold, and more. They remain dedicated to community involvement, raising over $15 million for LGBTQ non-profit organizations worldwide through their concerts.
ABOUT CAMP KC: Camp KC (Kids Connection) is Cascade AIDS Project's lakeside summer camp for HIV/AIDS affected children in the age range of 5-14. The one-week camp experience is a unique component of our year-long program for children and families, Kids Connection. Campers enjoy arts and crafts, swimming, canoeing, music and more, all while in the supportive community of trained and dedicated volunteers.
ABOUT OUR HOUSE: Our House provides a continuum of services in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. The Our House team works with people with advanced HIV/AIDS who are having difficulty managing independent living. They tailor services for each individual that defines what "living well" means to them. To learn more about Our House visit www.OurHouseofPortland.org.
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Art Auction Surpasses Goal
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Taylor Dayne, Cascade A Cappella Group, and Art Push CAP Over the Mark
A never before lineup of art, food and music put CAP's 24th Annual Art Auction over its goal with a  preliminary tally of $640,000. The event was co-chaired by Ann and Mark Edlen and presented by the Hedinger Family Foundation.
Held for the third time at the Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in Portland, more than 1400 people attended the art-focused fundraiser. Highlights of the night included performances by Taylor Dayne and the a cappella group, Cascade (of Portland Gay Men's Chorus), large financial gifts by several patrons, a paddle raise match of $50,000 by Nike and another at $20,000 from the Ray Hickey Foundation, plus several auction items going for far more than their value -- including a piece by Gus Van Sant that sold for $5,750 and a studio piece by Dale Chihuly selling for $9,500. Images of these items are at www.capartauctiongallery.org.
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Stephen Houze with Wendell & Kristy Birkland at the Patron Event
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The gala could not have happened without the grand gestures of the hundreds of artists and galleries who participated by donating art.
"This event is their legacy, started to pay the medical and household bills of friends and colleagues affected by HIV/AIDS early on," said Amy Caplan of Caplan Art Designs. "I am proud to work with so many other galleries and artists supporting this cause."
Sponsors of the event included:
- Presenting Sponsor - Hedinger Family Foundation
- Curator Sponsor - Nike
- Contributor Sponsors - Bling Dental & Morel Ink
- Docent Sponsors - Anglin Creative * Ann and Mark Edlen * FamilyCare Health Plans * Fred Meyer * Food Services America * KINK and Live 95.5 * Miller Nash * The Standard * Wells Fargo
- Patron Event Wine Sponsor - Yamhill Valley Vineyards
- Spirits Sponsors - Bendistillery & Avion
- Media Sponsors - PQ Monthly and Portland Monthly
CAP thanks over 200 volunteers and vendors who offered time or free/deeply discounted resources. Photos of the event are posted on the CAP Art Auction facebook page.
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Alicia Keys HIV Education Campaign Features CAP Board Member
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Grammy Award-winning singer Alicia Keys is working with the Kaiser Family Foundation for
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Alicia Keys with Jennifer Jako (far right)
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"Empowered," a campaign launched in March to educate women about HIV and provide grants to community-based projects for that purpose. Keys met with HIV+ women to discuss their experiences with HIV, including the fear and stigma associated with the disease. One of those women is Jennifer Jako, CAP Board member and longtime advocate for HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
"Empowered" includes outreach through public service advertisements, social media, and community programs and encourages women to get educated about HIV/AIDS, talk with family and friends, protect themselves and loved ones, get tested, prevent transmission, and adhere to treatment. Keys is also leading the Empowered Community Grants program with Kaiser and AIDS United that will donate up to $25,000 grants to community-level projects that focus on women and HIV. The campaign is scheduled to run for five years; publish a report annually on women's experiences with HIV and AIDS; and examine cultural changes regarding education, misconceptions, and stigma associated with the disease.
According to Kaiser, of the 1.1 million individuals living with HIV in the United States, one in four are women, and women of color account for about two-thirds of new HIV infections among women.
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New Staff in Prevention & Education
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Austin Minnieweather is the definition of a hard worker. He has been doing HIV prevention work in the Portland area since 2006, where he spent time coordinating HIV efforts with the Brother to Brother program. Following the B2B closure, Austin spent some time pursuing other endeavors and returned to the HIV workforce in March as Cascade AIDS Project's new HIV Prevention Specialist for Communities of Color.
 | | Austin, Cree and Diana |
Christopher "Cree" Gordon, born in rural Louisiana, has lived in Oregon on and off for most of the last 8 years. It took him being diagnosed with HIV to realize affected does not just mean infected. Since that time he has made it his personal mission to educate as many as possible. Using his southern charm, wit and humor to make people comfortable to talk about HIV, he hopes to leave his communities more beautiful and beneficial than he inherited them. He joins the Cascade AIDS Project team as the new Outreach Coordinator.
Diana Herrera-Perez has also joined the CAP team as our new Latino Services Team Intern. Diana will be assisting the Latino Services team on an ongoing basis with special events such as Latino Pride and íConcientízate! (our event for National Latino AIDS Awareness Day), as well as special projects such as promoting our Testing for All program to Spanish-speakers. Diana just graduated this May from Lewis & Clark with a degree in biology. She already has a great deal of experience volunteering in healthcare/non-profit settings such as the American Red Cross, OHSU, and Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center.
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Zipcar + CAP + You = Score!
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Many of you already know we have a deal with zipcar for a reduced price membership, but now we also have a sponsorship for Ride4CAP -- they are donating the use of 7 VANS for the three day fundraiser! This sponsorship came with a light-hearted challenge though (ROI sensibility), of recruiting 50 new zipcar members in 2013. Can you help us get 50 new folks?
This is one part of our effort to make good on the challenge, but of course we will add this message to the end of all Ride4CAP donor receipts and will also make the offer known throughout 2013 in other ways. Still, your help by signing up or sharing this idea with friends is needed.
Here is the deal for CAP Supporters:
- $25 Membership Fee Every Year (reg. $60/year) -- WHOA! DEEP DISCOUNT, and this is a NATIONWIDE MEMBERSHIP!
- $0 Application Fee
- Enter PROMO Code: CAPRIDE13PDX for $50 Driving Credit*
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Focus on Partners: Women of a Certain Age
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 Women of a Certain Age (WOACA) guides women to discover various tools that will allow them to enhance their lives and wellbeing, embrace their situations, explore their self-expression and share what they have learned with others about HIV, STD and Hepatitis C prevention.
CAP and WOACA support each other in several ways. CAP provides educational materials, safer sex supplies, and HIV testing at WOACA events. Women of a Certain Age distributes CAP information at their events and joins us for AIDS Walk Portland and more. Learn more about Women of a Certain Age here.
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Across the Country and Around the World |
PACHA Issues Groundbreaking Transgender HIV/AIDS Resolution -- In February, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) passed a groundbreaking resolution recommending ways to address the high rates of HIV/AIDS among transgender communities. The resolution is the first time recommendations have been made specifically for transgender people and is thought to be important in helping to implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.
"We're incredibly grateful to PACHA for passing such a strong and compelling resolution," said Transgender Law Center. "These recommendations, if implemented, will meet some of the dire needs of our community, which include data collection, education, and culturally competent prevention and care for transgender people, as our community continues to face extreme violence and discrimination which contribute to a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS." Read more here.
Bill Passes Approving Organ Transplants Between HIV-Positive People -- The Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act, a bill that would lift the ban on medical research on HIV-infected organs. Committee approval of the bill is the first step toward changing U.S. policy to allow organ donation between HIV-infected people, if future research confirms the safety of such procedures. For the HOPE Act to become a law, the full US Senate must first vote to pass the bill. The HOPE Act has bipartisan support.
The bill's sponsors stated that passing the HOPE Act will help to remove stigma linked to HIV/AIDS and will speed up the organ transplant process for HIV-infected people, saving both lives and healthcare costs.
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Thank You Donors!
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Our work at Cascade AIDS Project is only possible thanks to the generous support of thousands of contributors. While we can't list all of them here, we're grateful for every donation of any size. Below, we highlight those gifts of over $1,000 received from March 3 - May 7, 2013:
Adonya Ourshalimian and Flavia Arsenault
Al Glowasky
Ann and Mark Edlen
Anonymous
Ball Janik LLP
BJ Cavnor
Brian and Susan Wong
Buchanan Angeli Altschul & Sullivan, LLP (BAAS)
CC Slaughters
Chevron Corporation
Combined Federal Campaign
Dana Sullivan and David Schell
David Garrett
Dennis and Carol Warneke
Dr. Robert Lusk and Christopher Bailey
Ellis Northwest, LLC
Eric Castle and Joanne Luzietti
Eva Kripalani and Ken Warren
Glen Ulmer
Harrower Tax Services LLC
Heather and Tod Killough
Jeff Miller and William Carter
Jesse and Vicki Gamez
Joan and Thomas Ryan
Kevin Komos
LANpro Solutions LLC
Lisa Schroeder
Maria Rojo De Steffey and J. Daniel Steffey
Mark and Michelle Hartstrom
Mark Clift
McDonald Jacobs PC
MOREL INK
Nancy L. Haigwood and Andy McNiece
NIKE Inc.
OnPoint Community Credit Union
Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition
Patrick and Heidi O'Neill
Pediatrics Associates of the Northwest
Pfizer Inc.
Portland Community College (PCC)
Robert Goman and Stephen Beaudoin
Robert Swanson
Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust
Stephen Houze and Susan Svetkey
Stoel Rives LLP
The Hedinger Family Foundation
The Standard
Thomas Barreto and Brian Sinclair
U.S. Bank
Union Bank
United Way of the Columbia-Willamette
Vicky Cropley
Wells Fargo
Wilf's Restaurant
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