Monthly Musings from THP's Executive Director
"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving."
~ Mother Teresa
Dining for Friends season kicked off with a bang late last month with All Saints Episcopal Church's 6th Annual Dining with Saintly Friends. The party, as always, was planned as a BBQ on the church lawn. Alas, in the words of that ancient Yiddish Proverb, "Man plans and God laughs."
The temperature at the start of the party was a robust 43 degrees. Needless to say, the festivities were moved inside to the church's parish hall. And guess what? People still came and ate and laughed and talked to friends new and old and raised over $8,500 to support people living with HIV/AIDS in our community.
The All Saints party featured a Rafflerama this year with over 70 items that you could use your tickets to try and win. Folks had been soliciting items for the raffle for months and I asked my good friend, Lynn, to donate one of the decorative gourds she has been creating for the past year or so.
 A few weeks before the party, I was over at Lynn's house and she had two gourds sitting on her coffee table and she asked me to choose which one she should contribute to the raffle. I told her that they were both beautiful and that All Saints would be delighted with either of them.
Then I happened to look up at her mantle and see an absolutely exquisite gourd. Lynn caught me looking and smiled and said, "I can't part with that one, I've spent too much time with it."
The Saturday morning of the All Saints party, Lynn came over during setup to bring her contribution. As she was walking towards me, I looked down and saw her cradling the magnificent gourd from the mantle.
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Addison Ore, Executive Director
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She looked into my surprised eyes and said, "Honey, I had to give something that meant something to me."
Lynn's words were a gift to me as we embark on another season of Dining for Friends. This is what all of you have been doing for twenty six seasons - giving something that means something to you - your money, your time and your heart.
And I simply don't have the words to thank you enough.
But you know I'll keep trying.
I look forward to seeing you on May 16th.
With deep gratitude,
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Join us for this year's Dining for Friends!
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Registration is still open! ANYONE can host a Dining for Friends event and you can do WHATEVER YOU LOVE DOING! Invite your friends to DO WHAT YOU LOVE and raise funds and awareness for Triad Health Project and HIV/AIDS in our community. You can choose the date and time that works best for you and your friends!
All hosts and guests are invited to join the 50+ registered DFF parties and events in a community celebration at the Dessert Finale on May 16th at the Terrace at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. We'll feature the best desserts in town, including our Signature Dessert Sponsor Cheesecakes by Alex, and dancing the night away with the band Sol Fusion!
REGISTER TO HOST A DINING FOR FRIENDS EVENT TODAY!
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Dining for Friends Community Party
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See your friends and make new ones with 300+ people expected on the back Lawn & Carriage House at Blandwood Mansion in downtown Greensboro. (In case of rain, we have plenty of room inside the two floors of the Carriage House). Enjoy food, wine, beer and soft drinks, along with great music.
No RSVP Necessary. 100% of your donations to this party benefits Dining for Friends for Triad Health Project, whose mission is to provide practical and emotional support to individuals infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
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High Point's Inaugural Ribbons and Roses for THP!
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Ribbons & Roses for THP, held Saturday, May 2nd, was a hugely successful, fun and new Dining for Friends Party in High Point! Saturday's inaugural party at the historic Briles House set the bar high to become a fashionable new tradition!
Complete with a hat contest, silent auction and the Kentucky Derby on the big screen, it was the party to be at! Many thanks to all sponsors and guests who made this inaugural event a smashing success!
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Cooking with Ninevah
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It's amazing how a few spices can significantly affect the flavor of a simple dish. One such spice is cumin seed. As you study this recipe, you might think that 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seed will have a minimal impact...but toasting the seed enhances the essence of this spice and adds a most distinctive flavor. Moroccan Chicken is simple to make and needs only a few ingredients, but I guarantee the flavor will be memorable.
Ingredients
½ teaspoon whole cumin seed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon coarse ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
4 thinly sliced chicken breasts
Directions
Heat a nonstick skillet over a medium setting. Add the cumin seed to the hot skillet and stir frequently to toast the seeds, approximately 3 - 5 minutes. While cumin seeds are toasting, blend the olive oil, turmeric, smoked paprika, white pepper, and sea salt in a small bowl. As soon as the oil and spices are mixed, spoon 2 teaspoons of the oil/spice blend into the skillet and stir to mix with the toasted cumin seeds. Place the chicken breasts over the oil/spice/seed mixture and spoon the remaining oil/spice/seed mixture on top of the chicken breasts, spreading evenly. Sauté the chicken approximately 3 - 4 minutes and then turn the chicken to sauté the other side. Spoon the oil/spice mixture remaining in the pan over the chicken. Sauté until browned, about 3 - 4 minutes. Serve Moroccan Chicken over warm couscous or quinoa. For a different approach, serve the chicken over sautéed spinach with feta cheese. Bon appétit!
Makes 4 servings
Many thanks to our friend, Ninevah Murray, for her recipe. For more recipes and information on her cooking classes, go to www.makethisyoursnc.com
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'Saints' raise $8,500/ Kicks off 'Dining' season
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"Dining with Saintly Friends" has raised over $50,000 in six years!
The annual fund raiser at All Saints Episcopal Church raised over $8,500 last weekend. Guests enjoyed fresh BBQ and a "Rafflerama" with over 70 items.
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Mark Cassity, Director of Higher Ground
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I know a few prophets. Zechariah, Jeremiah, Ezekial, Zephaniah and Frank. "Frank" was diagnosed HIV+ when he was thirty, in the military. Yesterday he phoned me. "Lord willing," he said, "I'll be sixty in May," and then he told a story of a friend of a friend who was referred to him because her husband was recently diagnosed himself. Frank explained how the doctor recited the man's t-cell count and viral load, told him he had "full-blown AIDS" (which was incorrect), gave him a stack of papers and told him to make an appointment for 4-6 weeks. According to his wife, the man was planning his suicide as he left the office. Fortunately he was put in touch with Frank before his plans were complete.
Frank has always been a man of action. So when he asked, "You know what we need to do, Mark Cassity?" I was all ears. "What?" I said. "We've got to pray more," Frank said....
Sometimes I hear "Well, there's nothing to do now but pray," as if that were our last resort; and here's Frank - who has thrived against insane odds, who is accomplished and driven like few others I know - telling me that prayer is our singular priority. We've got to pray more.
Then Frank said, "When I pray you know what I pray, Mark Cassity?" "I'm sure I don't," I said. "I pray 'Teach me how to love,'" said Frank.
Due to HIV complications, Frank has been completely blind for years now.
Teach us to see like Frank.
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 Please help us welcome Alex Moseley, our newest Case Manager to THP! Alex is a recent graduate of UNCG's Social Work program. He completed a one year internship at the IRC and has volunteered with the Salvation Army in Eden and Reidsville. Alex is most excited about working with our HIV population.
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Confidence and Competence
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One of the things I've learned from my clients, and from my personal HIV journey is the relationship between confidence and competence. If you are confident that you can live a healthy life in spite of HIV, then you can develop the competence to do just that...to thrive, and not just exist. Confidence comes from the belief that you are worth having, for yourself, for others, and for the larger world. If you have it, or can develop that confidence, you will have the motivation to become more competent--educated, invested, and empowered.
I understand it's a journey, and it is not easy. I respect that there are many mitigating factors that are obstacles on the journey toward thriving with HIV.
Among those are definitely economic challenges, social issues, lack of access to medical care, lack of support, poor community resources, poverty...the list continues. However, it is on us to cultivate a stance of "I can do this. I am not a victim. I am going to be a victor." With confidence, and with the mindset that this virus will not hold us back, we can begin to dig deeper, research, connect, ask for help, advocate, and become competent as individuals who connect with a larger community--like Triad Health Project and our groups at Higher Ground, for instance--as a means of becoming competent and more compassionate to ourselves and others.
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Kevin Varner, Director of Prevention and Education
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The onus IS on the client in that way and it's meant to empower them to rise above shame and stigma. You are responsible for your own happiness and your own level of competence, your own degree of investment in your journey forward. No one else but you. The shift,--and in my experience it's a gradual one that becomes a "journey"-- is moving away from the initial trauma of the diagnosis and taking steps toward feeling confident and competent in your ability to thrive in spite of HIV. As a counselor with a degree in psychology and a strong interest in mindfulness practice, that's what I strive to help others to achieve.
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May 9th is National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive!
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On May 9th, postal workers will collect donations as part of the 2015 Postal Food Drive. It's the largest one-day food drive and fills a vital need as it replenishes our local food pantries, including Triad Health Project!
Proteins, such as canned meats and peanut butter, pastas and pasta sauces, oatmeal, cereal, soups, beans, rice and baby foods. No glass containers, please.
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Shirley Crowley retired after 19 years at THP. She has stayed busy putting more time into making jewelry, which is sold at Just Be in downtown Greensboro. We are happy to support her as this month's featured artist!
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