The Evening
Our 7th annual World AIDS Day Gala will feature live music, incredible hors-d’oeuvres & custom cocktails, followed by an elegant three-course dinner. Amazing products and services from our generous donors will be showcased in our silent auction and a spirited live auction will close the evening.
The Event
This year marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day. On Saturday December 1st, millions of people worldwide will unite in support of the lives that have been lost and affected by HIV. The theme for this year, as designated by UNAIDS, is “Know Your Status”, calling for the removal of all barriers to accessing HIV testing. At this year’s event, with your help, we will answer this call.
The Goal
Lesotho remains the country with the second highest HIV prevalence in the world. With little to no road access, and separated by 100s of kilometers, these tiny rural communities are almost completely cut off from adequate healthcare.
Today, HIV is no longer a death sentence. With proper treatment, the virus can be suppressed to an undetectable level and transmission can be prevented. The first step is to know one’s status. Significant progress has been made in the AIDS response since 1988. Three in four people living with HIV know their status. But we still have miles to go, as the latest UNAIDS report shows, and that includes reaching people living with HIV who do not know their status and ensuring that they are linked to quality care and prevention services.
So, how do you provide testing and consistent treatment to people in rural regions such as in Lesotho? You bring it to them.
Our goal for this year’s gala is to raise the funds for our first mobile health unit, which will deliver HIV testing and treatment services to isolated communities.
Attendees of this year’s event have an opportunity to leave behind a legacy; to be the group of 200 Guelphites that put Bracelet of Hope’s first mobile health unit on the ground in Lesotho. To be the blazers of the trail that by the year 2021, will carry a brigade of not one, but six mobile health units, providing 150,000 people with access to primary HIV care.
If we are able to raise $80,000 by the end of the evening of the 2018 World AIDS Day Gala, we will be able to assemble and operate one mobile health unit for one year, effectively testing, treating and ultimately saving, 25,000 lives. We want each guest to be able to proudly look back on the evening for years to come and say ‘We did that together’.
Join us on Saturday December 1st, and share with us what will be a pivotal moment in achieving our mission of seeing Lesotho AIDS free.
Doors Open: 6:30 PM | Dress Code: Formal
Seating Preferences
Let us know who you would like to be seated with by completing our seating preferences form. The deadline to submit your preferences is November 26th. You can access and edit your responses at any time up until this date. Access this form here.
Allergies & Dietary Restrictions
If you did not disclose your allergies or dietary restrictions when purchasing tickets, you can do so through our allergies & dietary restrictions form. The deadline to submit any allergies or dietary restrictions is November 23rd. Access this form here.