Julie Howes 2014 Adler Intern

We had the pleasure of hosting Julie Howes as an intern from Adler School of Professional Psychology for the 2014 spring semester. Julie is an Art Therapy student at Adler and worked with PACPI as part of her community service practicum. Despite the slow start to the semester due to the cold winter temperatures we all faced, Julie jumped right in to our follow-up project.

PACPI case managers work with our moms until their infants are about six months of age. After that point in time, we find that retention in care frequently drops. The follow-up project began in 2013 as a way to collect retention data from former PACPI clients by following up with them at three-month intervals.

Julie also provided assistance for various programs and projects including: arranging meal donations for our prenatal class, completing satisfaction surveys with exiting clients, contacting Illinois hospitals for Rapid Test result reports, helping distribute excess bottles and thermometers, and taking an in-kind donation inventory.

Intern support is valuable to PACPI thanks to the experience that individuals can bring to specific projects as well as additional program support to the PACPI staff.

If you know someone currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program who is looking for an internship, please refer them to us at [email protected]. Relevant fields of study include: public health, statistical analysis, marketing, creative writing, photography, public relations, or communications.

AIDS Run & Walk Chicago is a 5K/10K community event held in Chicago each year by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC). The event raises money for AFC as well as area nonprofit organizations who create teams and fundraise for their own programs. This is a special event where people from all over are coming together to change the story of HIV in our lifetime.

We need YOU, our supporters, to help us meet our Run & Walk goals to raise money for our programs.

PACPI’s 2014 goal is $10,000 AND we need 30 walkers or runners to join our team. Please join us this September or donate to Team PACPI. PACPI serves more than 150 women and newborns each year with services to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to baby. Our programs prevent transmission of HIV for 99% of our clients and even one case of transmission is too many.

In 2013, we exceeded our goal, raising $11,762. It was also a gorgeous September day, check out the 2013 photos. Summer is the perfect time to get out and start walking and running so we think it’s the perfect event to come together and demonstrate our pledge to stop transmission of HIV.

September 14th, 2014  –  Arvey Field in Grant Park.  Visit www.aidschicago.org for more information on AFC.

Handmade booties were donated for the PACPI Baby Shower Fundraiser

It all started on April 1, 2014. Edward posted a Google Images photo of a newborn baby girl on his Facebook page. “We’re adopting a baby!” he announced. “Welcome Ana Christine!”

While dozens of friends congratulated Edward and his partner David on their new daughter (named after both their mothers), others, aware it was April Fool’s Day, voiced their concern that the pair could barely care for a houseplant, let alone a child.

A few days later, David took the joke and ran with it. Without Edward’s knowledge, he began making arrangements for a “baby shower” – in actuality, a fundraiser for PAPCI. Guests were invited to purchase items requested by PAPCI case managers which would then go to real moms and their babies.

On the morning of May 18, PACPI Executive Director Anne Statton met Edward at the door of a local bar and welcomed him to what he thought was a regular PACPI fundraiser. When he entered the bar’s private party room, he was greeted by two dozen friends with shouts of “Surprise! It’s a baby shower for Ana Christine!”

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Courtesy of Ed Negron, Windy City Times

PACPI received an Excellence in Care Award as an agency that provides outstanding services, preventative education and outreach to people in the Chicago Area who are HIV positive, living with AIDS or at risk of infection.

The Grant Committee and Board of Directors of DIFFA/Chicago presented the award on February 25th at a Grants Reception in the Galter Pavilion of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

DIFFA/Chicago (The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) is a not-for-profit fundraising and grant making foundation that distributes funds to Chicago area HIV/AIDS service agencies. DIFFA/Chicago’s Excellence in Care Awards granting program has awarded over $2.5 million dollars since 1987.

Learn more: www.diffachicago.org