April 2006

In this issue:

1. Intro - National Volunteer Week
2. Special Report: MDH cuts MAP AIDSLine funding
3. What's new at MAP - AIDS Action Day recap
4. This month's volunteer opportunities - mini-Poster Blasts, Tuesday Niters, phone banks
5. Upcoming volunteer opportunities - MN AIDS Walk
6. Did you know? - National Public Health Week
7. MAP staff recommends — book and movie recommendations from Special Events Manager Dawn Renee Jones

Intro

National Volunteer Week

April 23 – 29 is National Volunteer Week. MAP would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your contributions! In 2005, a volunteer base of 1,200 donated more than 11,000 hours helping us reach 77,750 individuals with information, education, advocacy and services. We feel so fortunate to have volunteers that are so dedicated to MAP and to fighting HIV. During National Volunteer Week, take a minute to do something nice for yourself, and remember how important you are!

Special Report

MDH cuts MAP AIDSLine funding

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently announced plans to eliminate funding for the MAP AIDSLine, a statewide HIV information and referral resource. As a result, Minnesota’s “911 for AIDS” current level of service will need to change effective May 31, 2006. MDH decided to eliminate funding for the MAP AIDSLine after learning of cuts in HIV prevention funding the State receives from the federal government. Currently the MAP AIDSLine provides testing referrals statewide, assists family members in understanding the risks of transmission and serves as a primary connection for newly diagnosed individuals. Operating through a statewide, toll-free phone service and a website, the MAP AIDSLine connected 20,000 Minnesotans to the information they needed in 2005 alone.

Positive Link's Andy Ansell speaks during AIDS Action Day

photo: Minnesota AIDS Project

Sen. Scott Dibble (D-MPLS) and Rep. Margaret Anderson Kelliher (D-MPLS) proposed legislation to restore funding for the MAP AIDSLine. The bill number in the Senate is SF 3487 and the bill number in the House in HF 3486. This legislation would “Appropriate money to the commissioner of health to fund a community based nonprofit organization HIV information and referral service.” So – what can you do about this? First, you can contact your state Senator, Representative, and Governor Pawlenty and let them know that you support the above bills. Click here to find out who your State Senator and Representatives are. Second, you can sign up to be a volunteer or walker at the 2006 MN AIDS Walk. This is an especially important year for us to raise awareness and funds, and we hope you will be part of it!

Share Your MAP AIDSLine Story

If you've used the MAP AIDSLine in the past and would like to share your story of how you've benefited from its services, please let us know! We'd like to post your story on our Web site and share the impact of our services. Send us your MAP AIDSLine story.

What’s new at MAP

MAP volunteers and supporters on AIDS Action Day

photo: Minnesota AIDS Project

AIDS Action Day recap

On April 4, MAP held our annual AIDS Action Day at the Capitol. Over 75 people showed up for the program, which featured MAP Executive Director Lorraine Teel, Rep. Paul Thissen, Andy Ansell from MAP’s Positive Link program, and poet and community activist Kevin Moore. Then citizen advocates, including some of you, met with their state senators and representatives to discuss issues like comprehensive sex education and affordable health care, as well as the de-funding of the MAP AIDSLine. Thanks to everyone who attended for raising awareness about HIV issues in Minnesota. To make sure you are keeping informed on all the activity during the legislative session, sign up for the MAP Advocate.

This month’s volunteer opportunities

Mini-Poster Blasts

photo: artichoc + MAP

The weather is getting nicer, the days are getting longer, and the MN AIDS Walk is getting closer! Why not enjoy the spring by spending an hour or two distributing Walk materials? This is a crucial time for us to get the word out about the MN AIDS Walk. We have many neighborhoods available that we are hoping to get covered. This is something that can be done on your own time, alone or with friends and family. If you can help, let me know and I will set you up with materials and a map. If you would like to pick up materials to keep in your car, so that you are ready whenever you are in a store without a poster or brochure display, we would really appreciate that too!

Tuesday Niters

Last time, Tuesday Niter volunteers unpacked and sorted 17,200 condoms and lube packets, made 650 red ribbons, and assembled 200 packets. To join the fun, come to MAP on April 11 & 25, from 4:30 – 7 pm (come when you can & leave when you need to). RSVP here.

Phone Banks

Do you like to chat? Put your skills to use here at the MAP office. We are looking for daytime volunteers to help us contact past walkers and invite them to register for this year’s MN AIDS Walk. There will be no cold calls, and we will provide the script. Tell me if you can help out!

Upcoming volunteer opportunities

2006 MN AIDS Walk

If you haven’t signed up yet, now’s the time! It takes a dedicated crew of 500 volunteers to make the MN AIDS Walk a success. I hope you will be one of them! Many of the volunteer positions finish before the Walk starts. Recruit a couple friends and sign up on the MN AIDS Walk website. Volunteers can collect pledges for their time spent volunteering. It will be a powerful day of activism, celebration, remembrance, and community spirit. Don’t miss it!

Did you know?

National Public Health Week

April 3-7 is National Public Health Week. Celebrate by attending some free films at the University of Minnesota’s Mayo Memorial Auditorium. All screenings begin at 5:30 pm. The following may be of particular interest to MAP volunteers:

Thursday, April 6: HIV Then and Now
"And the Band Played On" - 141 minutes
"Sowing the Seeds of Hunger” – 27 minutes

Friday, April 7: Sex Ed.
“VD Questions, VD Answers" - 15 minutes
"The Talk" - 15 minutes
"The Education of Shelby Knox" - 76 minutes
"Sex Hygiene" - 24 minutes

Find more information at www.sph.umn.edu/filmfestival

MAP staff recommends

As you know, the MAP Special Events team is hard at work on the MN AIDS Walk. Heading up our efforts is Dawn Renee Jones, our Special Events Manager. Here are her recommendations:

Book

A Man of Measure by Thomas Wolfe

The author has a gift for creating a wide range of characters you can see and dialogue you can hear loud and clear. His characters are so very different and live in such diametrically opposed universes that you can’t imagine how they will eventually come together in ways that are incredibly logical and true. At the heart of this epic novel is a fading alpha male former jock, daredevil business tycoon, southern gentleman and raconteur whose world is unraveling faster than the ace bandages supporting his football crippled knees. Set in contemporary Atlanta, A Man of Measure paints poignant and hilarious portraits of what remains of antebellum gentility and wealth and the New South’s escalating African American political capital and financial power.

Movie

Tsotsi

Tsotsi won this year’s Academy Awards for best foreign film and deservingly so. Set in contemporary South Africa, the film is about a young thug who car jacks an SUV only to discover an infant in the backseat. The young tough has a hair-trigger temper and a well-documented penchant for violence, suggesting the worst possible ending to the tale. But possession of the infant illuminates Tsotsi’s humanity and naiveté, most significantly to himself.

Last Updated: Tuesday, April 3, 2007
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