More than a dozen community organizations will gather at Elon University for the countywide 2016 World AIDS Day event.
On Thursday, Dec. 1, the Red Ribbon Society will be co-hosting the annual Alamance County-wide event titled “World AIDS Day 2016 – Keep The Promise” at Elon University in McKinnon Hall. This event is free and open to all Elon and local community members.
The first part of the day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in McKinnon Hall D will include free confidential HIV testing administered by Alamance Cares. Students, faculty, and staff are welcome and encouraged to participate.
The second part of the day from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. is a nighttime program in McKinnon E&F featuring a delightful potato bar dinner with all the toppings, provided by Aramark catering.
At 6 p.m., a variety of special guests will be discussing the impacts of the pervasive stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS and how we can educate ourselves to debunk myths and stereotypes while celebrating the surviving and thriving of our friends and family impacted with HIV/AIDS.
Among the many speakers included are the president of the Alamance chapter of the NAACP, Barrett Brown, Elon’s Gender and LGBTQIA Center Director Matthew Antonio Bosch, and the Burlington Mayor and Elon alumnus Ian Baltutis!
From 7:30 to 8 p.m., the Red Ribbon Society will host a vigil led by the Rev. Phil Hardy of Life’s Journey United Church of Christ, and to close the evening, there will be an HIV Arts & Advocates Take the Stage panel, featuring a question-and-answer session on the impacts of HIV/AIDS in the lives of current Alamance County community members and worldwide.
Interested attendees can also check out https://www.facebook.com/events/316513142064513/ for further updates and details of this event as it approaches.
Cosponsors for the event include Elon University’s Gender & LGBTQIA Center, Alamance Pride, Alamance Cares, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alamance NAACP, PFLAG Alamance and many others!