Health care workers and volunteers Saturday plan to place 1,000 red ribbons here and in other northern Arizona communities to draw attention to people living with AIDS.
This regional red ribbon project is part of a global awareness campaign for World AIDS Day and is organized by the Grand Canyon Chapter of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC-GC). Nearly 800 people in northern Arizona have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS. When the 20 percent of cases who are unaware of their infection are included, this number rises to 993.
On Saturday, members of ANAC; Change, a public health student group; and the NAU LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Ally) Task Force and others will head up the effort to place a ribbon for each person living with HIV/AIDS in northern Arizona.
Some of the 1,000 ribbons will be placed in front of Flagstaff City Hall and near the Wall Aquatic Center on the NAU campus. Across the street at the NAU Health and Learning Center in the Health Promotions office, Coconino County Public Health Services District staff will be offering free confidential HIV testing Friday, from 1 to 5 p.m. for anyone wishing to take the test.
The ribbons are handmade from recycled materials by volunteers. The ribbon project is intended to serve as a reminder to viewers and passersby to learn about their HIV status by requesting a HIV test from their health care provider. The CDC currently recommends that everybody from age 13-64 get at least one HIV test in their lifetime and more frequently if they are at higher risk for the disease. HIV is transmitted through sexual activity, sharing used syringes and from mother to child during pregnancy.
People diagnosed with HIV can now take medicine that greatly improves their quality of life and their chance of survival.
Health care experts also now know that treating those with the infection reduces the spread of disease to others.
In a related project for World AIDS Day, ANAC-GC is donating two HIV prevention kits to the local group Flagstaff for Haiti. The kits include rapid HIV tests and medicines that can prevent an HIV infection in the event a person is exposed to HIV-infected blood. Flagstaff for Haiti provides surgical services in Haiti, a country with elevated rates of HIV.
Visit www.grandcanyonnursesinaidscare.org for more information.
Vendors needed for art market
The Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy Winter Festival & Art Market will be held on FALA’s campus (3401 N. Fort Valley Road) on Saturday, Dec. 8 and seeks artisan vendors who create items such as: art, photography, crafts, knitted or crocheted items, baked goods, and essentially anything hand-crafted.
Tables are $30 and vendors keep all profits. The event will be widely publicized in the community and among FALA parents.
Submit a vendor request to FALA teacher Sarah Buss at Sbuss@flagarts.com or download the vendor form at FlagArts.com. Space is limited and reservations close Friday.
The Dec. 8 event will include the opportunity to create hand-made holiday gifts, have your portrait taken by members of FALA’s Photo Club, create “Benevelolent Boxes,” and purchase one-of-a-kind handmade items from local artisans and FALA students.
The event will feature local artists, snacks, a photo booth and art supplies for hands-on activities. Donations will be accepted for the family portraits.
To increase the spirit of giving, FALA students and teachers are organizing the creation of “Benevolent Boxes” in which participants decorate shoe boxes for homeless men, women, and children identified through Inn Transitions and Catholic Charities. These boxes are then filled with small gifts and useful items.
Send Around the Town news to Abbie Gripman at agripman@azdailysun.com, or call her at 556-2241.
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