April 6, 2007
ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET
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Deborah Peterson Small, Keith D. Cylar AIDS Activist Award Recipient.
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Last minute preparations are underway for the Keith D. Cylar AIDS Activist Awards, and awardees and presenters alike are itching to get started on the nearly week-long roster of activities marking the event. This week’s passing of beloved Housing Works staffer and 2007 Cylar Award recipient Mark Hayes from esophageal cancer has leant the festivities a special urgency, as everyone involved strives to live up to Hayes’ remarkable example as an activist.
The prestigious Keith D. Cylar AIDS Activist Awards are presented to unheralded activists who tirelessly dedicate themselves to fighting HIV/AIDS and the stigma that surrounds the disease. This year, we’re celebrating the accomplishments of a remarkable group: Michael Emanuel Rajner (U.S. AIDS Activist Award; $10,000 grant); Mark Hayes (Housing Works AIDS Activist Award; $5,000 grant); Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga (International AIDS Activist Award; $10,000 grant) and Deborah Peterson Small (Virginia Shubert Courage Award). For detailed bios of all four, click here.
Hot ticket
Tickets are still available to the glamorous Benefit Gala to be held in honor of Hayes, Quiroga, Rajner and Small on April 12 at the gorgeous Prince George Ballroom at 15 E. 27th St. in Manhattan, starting at 6pm.
Though she learned of her award months ago, Small still can’t believe it—and can’t wait for April 12 to arrive. “Keith actually advised me to start my organization back in 2003!,” says Small, who founded Break the Chains, a pioneering group dedicated to drug-policy-reform. “This award is so incredibly meaningful for me. I knew Keith and loved him a lot.”
Angela Burt-Murray, editor-in-chief of Essence, and David I. Cohen, M.D., Chair of Housing Works’ Board of Directors will emcee the gala. The awards will be presented by Nuyorican Poetry Café founder Miguel Algarin; Housing Works Board Member and Senior Vice President of HBO Bernadette Aulestia; Housing Works Cofounder Virginia Shubert, Esq.; chair of the Housing Works Bookstore Café Board of Directors, Jen Bluestein; and 2006 award-winners, Karen Bates, Stephanie Williams, and Julie Peña.
“I am eager to be a part of the awards! They represent the essence of what Housing Works is about: advocacy, community involvement and the resolve of individuals in the fight against HIV,” says Aulestia. “The individuals being honored have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and passion for the cause.”
Hitting the hill
Before Rajner, Quiroga and Small come to New York, they’ll be in Washington, D.C., on April 9 and 10, using their new status as Cylar awardees to open doors in the federal government. The trio will visit with representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services and from the offices of Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (R-FL), as well as Representatives Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Mark Souder (R-IN). They’ll be grilling Hill staffers on HIV prevention, universal access to treatment and care and major legislation such as ETHA and HOPWA.
On April 10, Representative Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D-NY) and Regan Hofmann, editor-in-chief of POZ magazine, will cohost an open-to-the-public reception and moderate a lively discussion with the awardees at the Rayburn House Office Building at 5pm. Videos highlighting the work of Keith D. Cylar and the awardees will also be shown over hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. “I’m looking forward to visiting Capitol Hill and meeting with legislators,” says award recipient Michael Rajner. “It is a great opportunity to speak up and ensure universal access for HIV/AIDS program and move toward universal healthcare for all.
Join us on April 12
We hope you’ll come out and support the fine activists we’re honoring on April 12. All proceeds will benefit the Keith D. Cylar AIDS Activist Fund, which has raised $1.5 million in support of advocacy and activism by people living with HIV/AIDS in America and around the world.
Visit www.housingworks.org/awards to buy a $150 ticket to the Benefit Gala. To attend the reception in Washington DC, email Christine Campbell at Campbell@housingworks.org.