March 2006

In this issue:

1. Intro — Oscar Night® on Ice tickets
2. What's new at MAP— 2006 MN AIDS Walk website
3. This month's volunteer opportunities — promote the MN AIDS Walk
4. Upcoming volunteer opportunities — AIDS Action Day, Poster Blast II
5. Did you know? — the MAP web site: a treasure trove of information
6. MAP staff recommends — recommendations from Web Coordinator
   David Hedrick Skarjune
   

Intro

Oscar Night® on Ice tickets

The Academy Awards® are coming up on March 5 — where will you be? Why not spend the night in glamorous surroundings, eating delicious desserts and watching the broadcast on a movie theatre-sized screen? Tickets for Oscar Night® on Ice can be purchased here. This event will surely be the talk of the town — will you be part of it?

What’s new at MAP

2006 MN AIDS Walk website

There are many ways to get involved in promoting the MN AIDS Walk listed in the sections below. I encourage you to start thinking about the day itself (May 21) as well! While you’re doing that, why not swing over to our newly launched Walk web site? Meet this year’s spokespeople, get all the details on walking or volunteering, and register right through the site!

This month's volunteer opportunities

Mini-Poster Blasts

We kicked off the 2006 MN AIDS Walk on Feb 25 with Poster Blast I. Thanks to all who attended! We still have a lot of areas to cover, and we need your help to make the Walk a huge success. We’ve got bags of posters and point-of-purchase displays ready for you to take and bring to all the places you go anyway. Are there materials posted in your neighborhood coffee shop, favorite restaurant, or area grocery store? Why not keep a bag of materials in your car so you’re always prepared? If you’ve got a little bit of time to sign up for a specific neighborhood, we’d be happy to provide you with maps and materials. Let me know if you can help out with this important effort.

Phone Banks

photo: Marcel Aniceto

Starting in mid-March, we will be making phone calls to past Walkers to invite them to sign up again for this year’s Walk. If you would like to contribute your phone skills during daytime hours, this is the opportunity for you! There are no cold calls, and a script is provided. Interested? Send me an email.

Core Training

As a MAP volunteer, perhaps you’ve become the go-to person for your friends to ask HIV questions. Maybe you’re new to MAP and would like to start out by getting the basics on HIV history, transmission and prevention. Perhaps you’ve been volunteering for years and could use a refresher. Whatever your reason, I hope you’ll join us for Core Training, an HIV 101 class designed for volunteers. It will take place here at MAP on March 23 from 6–9 pm, and will be led by MAP Executive Director Lorraine Teel and MAP AIDSLine Community Educator Becca Denaway. Email me to sign up.

Tuesday Niters

Savvy volunteers know that all those safer-sex kits and red ribbons don’t assemble themselves! They are made by a committed and lovely group of volunteers that attend our Tuesday Niters drop-in volunteer nights. They are held here at MAP from 4:30–7 pm. Want to join the fun? RSVP for the March 14 or March 28 meeting.

Upcoming volunteer opportunities

AIDS Action Day

This year AIDS Action Day will be held on Tuesday, April 4, at the State Capitol. This is a day for HIV advocates and anyone interested in fighting HIV in Minnesota to come together to increase awareness, advocate for common sense health care and effective HIV prevention, and have their voices heard. Interested in meeting with your legislators that day? MAP will guide you through the process and provide talking points. Click here to sign up. We will also need a few people to assist with registration at the Capitol that day. Email me if interested.

Poster Blast II

On April 1, we will be doing another big sweep of the Metro, MN AIDS Walk posters

photo: artichoc + MAP

in tow. This is a day to replenish brochures in the places we’ve already dropped materials, and also to make a first visit to those neighborhoods we’ve not yet reached. This is a crucial event in the lead-up to the Walk, and I hope you all can be there! We’ll make it worth your while with bagels, coffee, and good company before you head out. The fun starts at 9:30 am that morning here at MAP. Email me to sign up.

Did you know?

The MAP web site is full of important resources and information on HIV. For example, we can help you assess your risk for HIV by leading you through a series of questions. You can also brush up on your HIV basics, get information on those persistent HIV myths, or download HIV statistics. Are you a parent or teacher looking for resources? You’ve come to the right place! We also have an extensive list of helpful links. And, of course, if there’s any information you can’t find on our web site, the knowledgeable folks at the MAP AIDSLine (612-373-AIDS) would love to help you out!

MAP staff recommends

David Hedrick Skarjune is our incredibly hardworking Web Coordinator, who manages all of MAP’s web sites. You can thank him for the page you’re looking at right now, and the fantastic Walk web site! He would like to recommend the following to all you volunteers:

Book

"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983) was inventor of the geodesic dome, futurist, utopian philosopher, and author of Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. I'm currently reading And It Came to Pass — Not to Stay, a series of essays that are surrealist nonfiction poems where 'Bucky' explores his synergistic view of mind, being, planet, and cosmos. You can find online writings, audio, and video at the Buckminster Fuller Institute. Next time you visit your local public library, look him up and you might come across Grunch Of Giants or Humans in Universe.

DVD

The Anniversary Party

Written by, directed by, and starring both Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, this independent project also casts Parker Posey, Kevin Kline, and Gwyneth Paltrow. It's a quirky little ‘actors’ film that toys with an insider view of the celebrity lifestyle and a fragile marriage by watching things fall apart. Put it on your Netflix list, or look for it in the bargain bin at the video store.

Last Updated: Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Questions about our Web site? Email webmaster@mnaidsproject.org

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