$150,000 Raised to Fight AIDS Locally

Stepping up a campaign to curb the spread of AIDS and care for those afflicted by it, the Ventura County AIDS Partnership has announced that it was able to reach its year-end fund-raising goal and is preparing to distribute that money to local groups doing battle with the disease.

The partnership--the county’s largest private fund dedicated to fighting acquired immune deficiency syndrome--raised $75,000 last year, an amount that will be matched by the Washington-based National AIDS Fund.

The $150,000 will be distributed by the end of March to help create a variety of HIV prevention programs and AIDS patient support services, said Art McDermott, the partnership’s program manager.

“We are overjoyed,” said McDermott, noting that contributions to AIDS charities nationwide have declined in recent years.

“The generosity of Ventura County families means a new year of hope for the thousands of local residents infected, affected or directly threatened by Ventura County’s AIDS epidemic.”

The fund-raising effort was started in late 1995 to drum up private support for local AIDS programs in the face of uncertain government funding.

Ventura County was one of 38 communities nationwide selected to participate in the fund-raising initiative of the National AIDS Fund.

Major contributors to the 1996 campaign included the Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation, the Amgen Foundation, the Martin V. Smith Foundation, United Way of Ventura County and the Camarillo Health Care District.

The AIDS Partnership also received 10% of the net proceeds from October’s AIDS Walk in Ventura.