In the name of Love: RAIN CHARITY FUNDRAISER SESSIONS

 

The first time I heard the letters, HIV, I was in an auditorium in 7th grade. My friends and family had gone to our school for a presentation on AIDS, a topic that had been

all over the news for some time , but our school wanted to educate the community on the disease and how to not only protect yourself from it, but how to help those who

may be infected with it. This was a sort of educational pep rally for information and assistance, not a fear seminar or hate speech symposium. Since that day, I have always

approached the subject of AIDS/HIV with compassion and concern.

AIDS does not discriminate between race, religion, gender or sexual orientation and it also doesn’t care how old you are to infect you. Science and medicine have made

enormous strides since I sat back in that auditorium in the 80′s, with a banana clip no less, but I am baffled by the fact that the number of those infected with AIDS and HIV is on the rise in North Carolina. In fact, Mecklenburg County has the highest number of HIV/AIDS cases in North Carolina. When we speak of AIDS, most people think of a global epidemic, which it truly is and a cure must be found. Casey and I decided that we wanted to reach out a hand to those in our own backyard first and so we learned about RAIN.

RAIN is short for Regional Aids Interfaith Network, and supports a cause that seems natural to the month of February because it is all about love. Serving from a place of love without judgement is so very important to both Casey and I and we are thrilled that RAIN said yes to our proposal!  RAIN has been serving the community since 1992 and their vision is awesome:

RAIN will be recognized as a model for providing compassionate care and a leader for innovative and effective AIDS work that engages a diverse network of volunteers committed to putting faith in to action.

We will integrate the wisdom and voices of those infected with HIV/AIDS in the planning and delivery of our services.

We will be a leader and educator among our health and human service organizations as well as faith-based and community groups, partnering with them on initiatives and promoting dialogue that seriously examines and deals with the spiritual and social justice issues connected with HIV/AIDS.

As a result of our work, we will inspire and empower more people to live, open more minds and help break stigma of HIV/AIDS regionally, nationally and internationally.

Help us raise money for the HIV+ individuals that RAIN serves and make some incredibly beautiful family memories for yourself.

Our focus is love, and for the rest of the month we want to share that love with all who need it.

To book your studio session, please call 704-343-2577 or send us an email through this blog!