Philly AIDS Thrift Announces $147,000 in Grants for 17 Local Organizations Fighting HIV/AIDS

Philly AIDS Thrift, in South Street Headhouse District, is pleased to award 17 local organizations with $147,000 in grant funding for their work in fighting HIV/AIDS in the Delaware Valley. Funds announced this week will bring PAT’s total contributions to the community to $1,470,000. Monies for the awards comes from two retail operations that turn gently used thrift items into retail sales that fund AIDS Fund and 19 other AIDS service organizations in the five-county region. The new annual grant program started in 2014 as another way to serve the local community and give back. The next request for grant proposals will take place in fall for winter 2016-2017. For more information about grant awards, donations or how to get involved, please visit www.phillyaidsthrift.com or call 215-922-3186.

For the 2015-2016 winter grant cycle, Philly AIDS Thrift had a record number of organizations apply for requests that totalled over $155,000. This represents nearly double the number of new organizations that applied and double the amount of money awarded vs. PAT’s first grant awards in 2014-2015. The organization’s board of directors and grant committee awarded all organizations with a grant for their projects totalling $147,000. Award winners and project summaries are as follows:

Action AIDS
Michael Taylor Fund - provide emergency basic human needs assistance to its clients with HIV/AIDS and their families through the Michael Taylor Fund, a restricted fund established and administered exclusively for this purpose
$10,000.00

Access Matters
SheMatters Baby Showers - provide a much needed opportunity for HIV positive women meet one another, gain critical health information, and enhance their parenting; ultimately, improving the health outcomes of participants and their children
$8,392.00

AIDS Delaware
Food Pantry - Wilmington and Rehoboth - provide funding for food pantry that operates throughout the state of Delaware providing nutritious groceries for people living with HIV/AIDS who may not otherwise have ready access to food
$10,000.00

AIDS Law Project
Planning Ahead - support of our efforts to provide education, individualized counsel and end-of-life documents for Pennsylvania’s LGBT community
$10,000.00

Attic Youth Center
HIV Prevention Programming for LGBTQ Youth (YMSM) - provide program supply expenses and youth educator stipends for The Attic’s HIV Prevention program, which provides safer sex peer education, support, outreach, and community events

Camp Dreamcatcher
2016 Camp Session - enable HIV/AIDS impacted youth the opportunity to attend the 20th camp session
$5,000.00

Congreso
El Huerto del Pueblo Gardening Initiative - enhance programming for adults living with HIV/AIDS in Esfuerzo Program by educating and modelling healthy lifestyle choices by utilizing Congreso's community garden
$10,000.00

Family Services of Chester County
ProjectONE - support group, transportation to the HOPWA program, emergency needs funding to Project ONE clients, prevention outreach to individuals living with HIV/AIDS and their families. As well as prevention services to lessen the spread of HIV in greater Coatesville by offering the CLEAR program to HIV positive and or high-risk individuals
$6,000.00

Family Services of Montgomery County
Project HOPE - provide funding for ambulatory medical appointments for clients who do not have insurance, do not qualify for insurance, or are underinsured; help HIV infected clients to pay insurance premiums that they may not be able to afford
$10,000.00

GALAEI
Back to Basics - educate about HIV, build community power in gay Latino men and transgender women of color living with HIV, and provide resources so they can lead healthy lives and transform their communities
$10,000.00

LGBT Elder Initiative
HIV & Aging Program - funding for portion of LGBTEI Conversations series that is designed to connect people with people, information and resources so that they can age successfully while living with HIV
$10,000.00

MANNA
HIV Program meals and nutritional counseling - support comprehensive nutrition services for people living with HIV/AIDS who are battling malnutrition and a life-threatening illness
$10,000.00

Mazzoni Center
Electronic Medical Record (EMR) - implement EMR for our community-based HIV testing and STD screening services
$7,600.00

PPKeyFree
Free Rapid HIV Test Program - expand free Rapid HIV Testing Program to our Warminster and Quakertown Medical Centers
$10,000.00

Prevention Point
Syringe Exchange Program, (SEP) - provide funding for Syringe Exchange Program (SEP) and continue access to information and resources for reducing the risk for HIV
$10,000.00

Siloam
Education and Outreach efforts; Lunch & Learn - provide support our education and outreach efforts; increase nutritional opportunities towards better health for our clients
$5,000.00

William Way LGBT Community Center
Sharing Space - expand its Sharing Spaces program, providing more opportunities for programs and services targeted to people living with HIV by reduced rental fees
$5,000.00

“The Board and Grant Committee of PAT and PAT @Giovanni's Room are so proud that we are able to more than double our beneficiary organizations and dollars given away through this, our second grant cycle,” said PAT Board President and Grant Committee Chairperson Michael Byrne. “These great organizations work hard everyday to make the lives of men, women, and children living with HIV & AIDS better, or to stem the tide of new infections. We are thrilled to partner with them in their efforts!”

Grant awards by PAT started in 2014 as an additional way to give back to the community. PAT has been giving funds through the AIDS Fund since they were founded 10 years ago. In June, PAT also launched an in-house HIV testing center inside their retail store at 710 S. 5th Street, in South Street Headhouse District. ActionAIDS, Bebashi, GALAEI, Mazzoni Center and Philadelphia FIGHT provide free, drop-in, rapid testing and related counseling services.

All funding and services are made possible from a very unique business model, PAT, a 501 (c)(3), collects donated books, household items, fashions, toys, decorations and other useful (and sometimes mysterious items) and resells them through two retail operations. The main retail space at 710 S. 5th Street features thousands of items on three floors in the heart of South Street Headhouse District. The second retail operation is called Philly AIDS Thrift @Giovanni’s Room and features thrift items, but also new books (in tribute to the former Giovanni’s book store that used to occupy the space). Proceeds from all of PAT’s operations have continued to grow, and the organization is closing in on $1.5M donated to the community.

“It is amazing to all of us that we are so close to having given away $1.5 M dollars since our inception,” said PAT Founder/Co-Manager Tom Brennan. “We couldn't do it without our generous donors and enthusiastic shoppers.”

Founder/Co-Manager Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou added, “Our staff and volunteers work very hard everyday to make sure that we can make the biggest difference possible in the lives of men, women, and children living with and affected by HIV/AIDS across the Delaware Valley.”

The next round of funding for grants will open in fall for the 2016/2017 winter grant awards.  While the application process is closed until then, Byrne said, “We hope this is the start of an ongoing and lasting relationship with our fundees.”

For more information, visit www.phillyaidsthrift.com or call 215-922-3186. The schedule of agencies testing in a given week will be posted online, outside the store and on social media at Philly AIDS Thrift on Facebook and @philyaidsthrift on Twitter.

ABOUT PHILLY AIDS THRIFT

Philly AIDS Thrift is a 501(c)(3) non-profit thrift store benefiting HIV /AIDS service organizations.  It first opened a small shop on Bainbridge Street in the fall of 2005, it expanded to additional warehouse space in 2007.  In 2011 all of its operations moved under one bigger and better roof at 710 S. 5th Street.  In the fall of 2014 it added a second location when it took over the historic LGBT bookstore Giovanni's Room at 12th and Pine, which it now operates as Philly AIDS Thrift @Giovanni's Room.

The store is run with support from amazing volunteers and is successful with donations from the public for thrift items to sell and the shoppers that buy those items. PAT’s main beneficiary is the AIDS Fund. The AIDS Fund distributes money to twenty-nine AIDS agencies in the five county Philadelphia region. They pass on the money we give them every month with NO administrative costs taken out. They also organize the Philadelphia AIDS Walk every October and the monthly Gay Bingo fundraiser throughout the year.

In addition to our cash contributions, Philly AIDS Thrift provides free store vouchers to Philly area HIV/AIDS service providers for distribution to clients in need of clothing assistance and household necessities.

According to the City of Philadelphia AIDS Activities Coordinating Office, Philadelphia is the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Pennsylvania. More than 30,000 Philadelphia residents are living with the virus that causes AIDS. Many people do not know their status and have never tested.

LOCATION INFORMATION

Philly AIDS Thrift
710 S. 5th Street
Phila, Pa.19147
215.922.3186
www.phillyaidsthrift.com

PhillyAIDSThrift@Giovanni's Room
345 S. 12th St
Phila, Pa 19107
215.923.2960
www.giovannisroom.com