Letter From the Executive Director

I write this letter to you on the 11th of October and find it hard to believe that only one month ago that our world changed so much. The thoughts, prayers, love, and support of all of us at Body Positive go out to those who are still suffering.

In other ways our world has not changed. The many problems that existed on September 10, including HIV/AIDS, continue to exist today, something that we must remember and remind all those raising millions of dollars for the World Trade Center disaster funds. It is no secret that funding for HIV/AIDS has been on the decline in recent years. In fact, I have written about the lack of interest in the philanthropic community about increased funding for AIDS services. That concern is even more pressing because the fundraising limelight today focuses on the WTC tragedy.

While the tremendous losses, both emotionally and physically, have yet to truly be calculated, together we must make all funders and donors aware of the urgent need to continue raising money for the AIDS community. The impact of steering money away, over the long term, from agencies like Body Positive would have a detrimental effect on our future and more importantly on all those that depend on our services.

Donations great and small make a significant difference. Please make an effort to attend our special events, subscribe to our magazines, support our programs and services, make a donation in memory of someone you love. Keep in mind that HIV/AIDS was here long before September 11th and will be here for many years to come. My hope is that Body Positive will be as well.

As I relate in this month's cover story, the response of the BP staff, peer educators and volunteers to the events of September 11th was amazing. For a group of people to come together so quickly to help others in immediate need, while continuing to run our programs and services, was no small task. In fact, it was monumental and will certainly be remembered for years to come. The least that we could do was to chronicle the story for this month's magazine.

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This article was provided by Body Positive. It is a part of the publication Body Positive.