Community Action, Inc. of Rock & Walworth Counties announces its World AIDS Day community awareness event on Tuesday, December 1. The nonprofit agency is partnering with Beloit Public Health Initiative (BPHI) for the program.
“Eliminating the stigma surrounding people with HIV is our mission,” says Marc Perry, director of community programs for Community Action. “Raising awareness, providing much needed education and ensuring access to health services are the tools that we use to complete the mission.”
The event features a health fair, free dinner and a keynote speech by Neil Willenson.
Willenson is nationally renowned as the founder of One Heartland, formerly Camp Heartland. One Heartland is a nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of children and families who experience HIV/AIDS. When he was 22, Willenson befriended a young child with AIDS and witnessed the discrimination and pain the boy suffered. Through the creation of Camp Heartland, Willenson provided a safe haven for thousands of kids infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
In 2008, GQ Magazine included Willenson in its “Men of the Year” list. Among his other accolades, Willenson received the “Forward Under Forty Award” at his alma mater, the University of WisconsinMadison.
World AIDS Day Free Community Event
Tuesday, December 1st
5:30pm—Health fair and free dinner
7:00pm—Speaker Neil Willenson
Beloit College Science Center 801 Pleasant Street, Beloit
