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Source: Jeff Sheehy
415-476-2557
24 November 2004
UCSF event on December 14 supports HIV/AIDS treatment for Ugandans
The UCSF Family Treatment Fund will sponsor a holiday event on Tuesday, December 14, to raise funds for treating Ugandans infected with HIV.
Named the "Make a Difference Gala," the event will take place at St. Mary's Cathedral, 1111 Gough Street in San Francisco. It will begin at 6:30 PM with a reception and silent auction, followed by a series of performances. At 9:00 PM, there will be a post-reception with a hosted bar and appetizers.
The UCSF Family Treatment Fund is a program of the UCSF Department of Medicine and AIDS Research Institute. Directed by David Bansgberg, MD, MPH, the Fund raises monies for treatment of HIV-positive Ugandans and provides clinical care in collaboration with local hospitals.
Each dollar donated to the Fund will provide one day of life-saving anti-HIV combination therapy in Uganda, says Bangsberg, who is director of the UCSF Epidemiology and Prevention Interventions Center at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center.
Individual tickets for the event are $30, which supports one month of treatment; $90, three months of treatment; $180, a half-year of treatment; and $365, one full year of treatment.
Performances at the gala will include Rhodessa Jones, founder and director of the Medea Project; Nigerian Brothers, a West African musical group; Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco; Five Years of Life: A Story of AIDS in Uganda, a video by Mark Decena; COG, a brother and sister duo; and Aijai Anderson, a singer/songwriter.
"With 1.2 million Ugandans infected with HIV and precious few receiving the antiretroviral medications that have so successfully reduced deaths from AIDS in America, contributors can literally give days, weeks, months or years of life to a Ugandan with HIV/AIDS through their donations," says Bangsberg.
More information about ticket purchases and donations is available by phone at 415-206-4118 or online at Family Treatment Fund
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MEDIA ARE INVITED TO COVER: Media interested in covering the event or arranging an interview with Dr. Bangsberg should contact Jeff Sheehy at (415) 845-1132.
