In the second year of its grantmaking program, Philly AIDS Thrift more than doubled the amount of money it distributed and the number of organizations it funded. The thrift store distributed about $146,000 to 17 organizations this week, up from about $70,000 given to eight organizations last year.
“Just from people buying $5 shirts and digging in the dollar bin and $3 DVDs and a $1 CD, by this time next month, Philly AIDS Thrift will have given away $1.5 million,” said Michael Byrne, newly elected president of the PAT board. Several-dozen people attended the Jan. 19 ceremony for grantees at Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room in the Gayborhood.
“It’s stunning,” Byrne said.
Philly AIDS Thrift also gives $20,000 a month to the AIDS Fund, which it distributes to local organizations through its grantmaking process.
The grantees said they planned to use their funds for nutrition and social programs along with HIV testing and prevention efforts.
Siloam and Congreso de Latinos Unidos are emphasizing farmers markets and community gardens, while AIDS Delaware will support its food pantry. The Mazzoni Center plans to fund its Ally Safe Schools program, and Camp Dreamcatcher in Kennett Square will provide scholarships for 15 kids who are infected or affected by HIV to attend a week-long summer program.
The Attic Youth Center will expand its HIV-prevention programs, while Planned Parenthood Keystone will offer free HIV testing in Bucks County.
“We were looking to fund specific projects rather than overhead,” Byrne told PGN before the grant-awarding ceremony.
Other grantees include AccessMatters, ActionAIDS, The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, Family Services of Chester County, Family Services of Montgomery County, the LGBT Elder Initiative, GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization, Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance and the William Way LGBT Community Center.
“One of the things that makes this so special is we get buses of kids from CHOP and St. Chris,” said Emmalee Bierly, program director and therapist at Camp Dreamcatcher, referring to the kids who attend on recommendation from children’s hospitals in Philadelphia. “When we can say to them, ‘You’re here because of Philly AIDS Thrift,’ that shows them that their community cares about them.
“That inspires kids who are going through a rough time,” Bierly added.
Alberta Bertolino, executive director of Siloam, also felt that receiving the grant from Philly AIDS Thrift represented a moment of coming full circle. The thrift store donated some clothing to be used as material in the Gratitude Pillow Project. David Moore of Siloam shepherded the project in November to deliver handmade pillows to residents of Calcutta House, an HIV hospice in Francisville.
“It’s all just synergy of the organizations in the city,” Bertolino said.
She noted Siloam, an HIV organization in Spring Garden, would use its Philly AIDS Thrift grant to take its members on field trips to local farmers markets.
“A lot of people shy away from farmers markets because they don’t know how to pick things,” Bertolino said. “We’re really trying to bolster eating right, but not expensively.”
Nurit Shein said Mazzoni’s ally program, which started in 1997, used to be partially funded by the School District of Philadelphia, but the district’s budget cutbacks made that impossible some years ago.
“The ally program is very underfunded,” Shein said, adding the Philly AIDS Thrift grant “is a nice piece” for the program, which works to create gay-straight alliances, enhance collaboration between schools in the city and train teachers and staff.
Kevin Burns, executive director of ActionAIDS, said the grant for his organization would go toward the Michael Taylor Fund, which makes emergency grants to people with HIV for things like utilities and rent. The fund can also cover basic furnishings.
“It supports clients with very practical needs,” Burns said. “It’s really hard to find unrestricted money, so this grant is huge for us to sustain that fund. Honestly, it means the world to us.”
Elicia Gonzales, executive director of GALAEI, said her organization wants to do a follow-up survey to one that was conducted in 2013. The purpose will be to find out how much Latinas and Latinos know about HIV transmission and prevention.
“We want to hand out HIV 101 information and talk about PrEP,” Gonzales said, referring to pre-exposure prophylaxis, a daily pill regimen that’s shown to be effective at preventing HIV. “We want to take it back to the roots and hit the streets.”
The grantees weren’t the only ones with big plans for the future. Philly AIDS Thrift, after celebrating its 10th anniversary in the fall, is working on a strategic plan to develop goals for the next year.
“I’m particularly excited to hear what the volunteers’ and staff’s dream for the thrift store is,” Byrne told PGN. “I’m excited to hear something I haven’t thought of before.”
The board hopes to have the plan wrapped up by the summer, in time for the start of the new fiscal year in September, Byrne said.
