New Mexico AIDS Unit to Acquire Charity

A nonprofit medical center for AIDS patients in northern New Mexico will acquire the assets and fund-raising events of a charity for people with HIV/AIDS. An official of Santa Fe Cares, an 11-year-old fund-raising organization that sponsored the annual AIDS walk and the star-studded musical event Live at the Lensic, said Tuesday it will hand over responsibility of those two events to the Southwest C.A.R.E. Center.

The center, which was founded in 1996, provides medical care and psychological services to about 400 New Mexico residents who are infected with HIV/AIDS. The center has received the lion's share of Santa Fe Cares' proceeds each year since the center opened, said Santa Fe Cares board President Alicia Miller. She praised the center as a national model for providing services to people with HIV/AIDS. It also offers HIV-prevention services to at-risk populations.

The change will cut the costs of fund-raising plus supporting administrative staff on the part of Santa Fe Cares at a time when caring for AIDS patients and people with HIV has become more costly, Miller said. Officials with both organizations announced the change at a banquet in Santa Fe on Tuesday evening. "I think everybody is real upbeat, and I think I can speak for the board when I say that I believe they see this is a wonderful opportunity," Miller said. Santa Fe Cares had been gathering $250,000 to $275,000 annually from its fund-raising events; a third or more of the proceeds had gone to the center. With its acquisition of Santa Fe Cares, the center will receive all of the profits from the two events, said Dr. Trevor Hawkins, the center's medical director.

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