Seventh Annual AIDS Compassion and Awareness Week at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Bishop Healy Multicultural Society has planned a series of events at the College of the Holy Cross committed to educating the community on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and to offering a support system for victims and their loved ones. This is the seventh consecutive year of AIDS Compassion and Awareness Week, the largest and most important event the Society sponsors. The events, free and open to the public unless noted, will run from Dec. 1 – 5.

On Nov. 24-25, and Dec. 1-5 in the Hogan Lobby, the Bishop Healy Multicultural Society will be selling banquet tickets, collecting donations, and selling artwork, jewelry, and crafts made by children in Malawi and sent to the College by The Pendulum Project. The Pendulum Project is a humanitarian organization founded by Holy Cross alumna Ellen McCurley ’82, to aid HIV/AIDS orphans and afflicted communities in Malawi, Africa.

Dec. 1 8 – 9 p.m., Hogan 519 Holy Cross students reflect on the Habitat for Humanity trip to Malawi, and the first-ever visit made by a Holy Cross group to the Pendulum Project site.

Dec. 2 7 – 8 p.m., Rehm Library Panel Discussion: Encountering Global HIV/AIDS The discussion will be led by Mary Roche, assistant professor of religious studies, and Mary Lee Ledbetter, professor of biology.

Dec. 3 8 p.m. - 10 p.m., Field House 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament Fundraiser $5 per person, prizes included! All proceeds will be donated to AIDS Project Worcester, Inc. and the Pendulum Project. Teams can sign up in the Hogan Lobby.

Dec. 3 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Health Services Free AIDS Testing (students only) AIDS Project Worcester (APW) will bring in two counselors to offer free, confidential, and anonymous HIV/AIDS testing. Two students can be seen every 30 minutes, and the last appointment is 1:30 p.m. Please call Health Services at 508-793-2276 to receive an appointment time.

Dec. 4 5 p.m. – 6 p.m., McCooey Chapel AIDS Awareness Vigil There will be a prayer vigil in the McCooey Chapel to call to mind all those affected by the disease.

Dec. 5 Hogan Campus Center Ballroom Seating 5 p.m., Banquet invocation 5:30 p.m. AIDS Compassion & Awareness Week Charity Banquet Prices: Holy Cross students $13 before Dec. 1st and $15 starting Dec. 1st; Non-Holy Cross students $20 Keynote speaker: Juliet Berk, Department of Public Health HIV/AIDS Bureau and HIV/AIDS activist Performing Artist: Jamale Adams, associate dean of student life at Brandeis University The banquet will serve as an educational event and fundraiser open to the Holy Cross and Worcester communities. All proceeds will be donated to AIDS Project Worcester and the Pendulum Project. The attire for the banquet is semi-formal. Dinner will be provided by the College’s Hogan Campus Center Dining Services. The evening will include student performances and speakers from AIDS Project Worcester and The Pendulum Project.

Preceding dinner, a poster session will be presented from 4 – 5:15 p.m. by students enrolled in assistant biology Professor Ann Sheehy’s HIV/AIDS course.