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For Immediate Release
Contact: Teresa Lyles Holmes
Email: tholmes@balmingilead.org
Phone: 212-730-7381
BLACK CHURCHES LAUNCH THIRD ANNUAL HIV TESTING NATIONAL
AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
NEW YORK, NY-June 10, 2002…The Balm In Gilead announces the third
annual Our Church Lights The Way: The Black Church HIV Testing Campaign,
a national effort that utilizes the power of the Black Church to encourage African
Americans to take the HIV test. This campaign, which runs the entire month of
June and culminates June 27th with National HIV Testing Day, seeks to encourage
Black Americans to take the HIV test and to help Black churches become community
centers for HIV education and information.
Our Church Lights The Way: The Black Church HIV Testing Campaign is
organized by The Balm In Gilead, an organization dedicated exclusively to mobilizing
churches throughout the African Diaspora in the fight against HIV/AIDS. "From
the altar to the front steps, we are asking churches to take the lead and encourage
their members and its communities to take the HIV test," says Pernessa C.
Seele, founder/CEO of The Balm In Gilead. "Black congregations have an essential
role to play in empowering African Americans to take the HIV test as a way of
stopping the spread of AIDS in our communities."
The Balm In Gilead is calling on all Black churches during the month of June
to encourage their congregations and communities to take the HIV test. In the
US, African Americans account for 50% of the estimated 40,000 new infections each
year and the leading cause of death for Black individuals 25-44 years of age is
HIV/AIDS.
The Balm In Gilead has been working very closely with two church-based HIV
testing programs, which it highlights as model programs for Black congregations:
Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, OH and St. John's United Methodist Church
in Houston, TX. These church-based programs provide comprehensive services to
their communities and are making a positive impact on the lives of people living
with HIV. To learn more about these and other church-based HIV testing programs
and how your church can participate in "Our Church Lights the Way Testing
Campaign," call The Balm In Gilead at 888-225-6243 and receive HIV resource
materials to support your HIV testing campaign.
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