Across North Carolina, HIV and AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) showed up and showed out for this year’s World AIDS Day. From bowling in Belmont to visiting the AIDS quilt in Asheville, our communities marked the day in powerful ways.
This year, it was an honor to co-create custom World AIDS Day shirts for organizations like Western North Carolina AIDS Project (WNCAP), AIDS Leadership Foothills-area Alliance (ALFA), RAIN, and the Alliance of AIDS Services Carolina. Each design brought the organizations’ event an extra sense of energy and togetherness.
At the same time, this year’s events happened amid constant federal funding attacks on HIV prevention and treatment. Celebrating was a much-needed reminder that all progress we’ve made in the fight against HIV has been thanks to community organizing and mutual care.
This year’s powerful events raised community engagement with HIV/AIDS advocacy and provided spaces to gather, grieve, and ground in the work ahead—and we think the t-shirts really brought us together.
So, what comes after the World AIDS Day shirts? Stay connected by joining NCAAN’s Action Team. Together, we will continue fighting for the rights of people living with and impacted by HIV.
