MY HERO GALA COMMEMORATES 25 YEARS OF SAVING LIVES

The AFA and AFL My Hero Gala celebration commemorates AID FOR AIDS’ 25th Anniversary and the resilience, ingenuity and empathy of Heroes who work to save lives.

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, April 29, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — AID FOR AIDS (AFA) and AID FOR LIFE (AFL) are preparing for a spectacular My Hero Gala (MHG) celebration, Tuesday, May 3, 2022, commemorating AID FOR AIDS’ 25th Anniversary. Being held at New York City’s iconic American Museum of Natural History, the event also marks the first in-person My Hero Gala since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Co-Chairs for this year’s My Hero Gala are Adriana Cisneros, Alejandro Santo Domingo, Carolina Lanao and Leticia Ossa Daza. Reflecting on the significance of the event in a joint statement, the Co-Chairs announced, “We hope this evening serves both as a celebration of the amazing work of AID FOR AIDS and AID FOR LIFE and an inspiration to continue supporting their work in providing access to lifesaving medicine, healthcare, food, HIV prevention and improving the quality of life of vulnerable people”.

The event will celebrate AFA’s beginnings of recycling unused, unexpired HIV medication in 1996 and redistributing them to people with HIV in low and middle income countries, to becoming a global organization that has impacted over 5 million people across 70 countries worldwide.

Over the years, AFA has sent over $180 million in HIV medication to more than 60,000 people in 70 countries, reached over one million people with medicine for other health conditions and engaged millions of youth with HIV prevention, empowerment, and leadership tools.

In New York City and satellite offices across Latin America, AFA provides much needed services to vulnerable communities including immigrants, refugees and LGBTQ at risk of or with HIV, with access to healthcare, food and shelter, legal assistance, advocacy and linkage to local services. AFA serves diverse communities such as Latino immigrants in New York City, Haitians in the Dominican Republic, indigenous groups in Panama and the Venezuelan diaspora across Latin America.

“I am in awe and couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve accomplished as an organization,” says AID FOR AIDS’ Executive Director and Founder, Jesús Aguais. He continues, “This year’s My Hero Gala is a celebration of not only our hard work, but the resilience, ingenuity, and empathy found in so many others around the world. We celebrate the Heroes who have the courage to make a difference in the lives of others and we share the pride in what we’ve been able to accomplish as an organization and our hope and readiness for the future.”

This year’s My Hero Awards will be presented to:

His Excellency Iván Duque Márquez, President of Colombia, who will be honored with the My Hero Award in recognition of his leadership in responding to the Venezuelan refugee crisis in Colombia and for being the first President to approve Temporary Protected Status for 1.8 million Venezuelans.

Globant, the international IT and Software Development company based in Argentina, will receive the corporate My Hero Award for enabling AFA to provide infant formula to 1,300 babies who could not be breastfed by their mothers, helping guarantee their healthy brain development during their first year of life.

Michael Weinstein, President and Co-Founder of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, will be recognized for his commitment and passion to provide people with HIV with dignified care and his pivotal support in increasing services and attention to Venezuelan refugees with HIV in Colombia.

The organization will also present two special awards that evening:
Azul Positivo, the Venezuelan-based nonprofit that works to educate and raise awareness of HIV prevention, will receive the Daniela and Bernard Chappard Award for HIV Prevention, which includes a $10,000 prize. The award will be presented by Dr. Cesar Nuñez, Director of UNAIDS’ New York Office.

The inaugural Terry Riley Humanitarian Award for the Arts, an in memoriam tribute to the renowned architect, honors Terry Riley’s legacy of social transformation. Artist Bouchra Khalili is being honored for her careful and emotional handling of the delicate topic of forced migration through art. The award will be presented by Glenn Lowry, Director of the MoMA, and includes a $10,000 prize.

Official sponsors for this year’s event are Gilead Sciences, Inc. and the Bernard Chappard Trust. Additional supporters include Citibank, Wilkie Farr and Gallagher and Federación de Cafeteros de Colombia.

My Hero Gala is AID FOR AIDS and AID FOR LIFE’s biggest fundraising event of the year, bringing together cherished patrons, partners, colleagues, and friends to celebrate life and honor the individuals, organizations, and corporations who have shown the courage and commitment to help others. The Gala routinely attracts 250+ attendees from diverse backgrounds, including business, healthcare, philanthropy, diplomacy, public office, media, and the arts.

Past My Hero Award recipients include influential figures such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the United States; Dr. Robert Redfield, former Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention; former First Lady of Colombia, Lina Moreno de Uribe, and former First Lady of Panamá, Vivian Fernández de Torrijo.

For more information on the My Hero Gala, to become a sponsor, or to purchase tickets or tables, please visit https://aidforaids.org/my-hero-gala/.

Ariadne Rosales
Aid for Aids/ Aid for Life International
+1 212-337-8043
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