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For Immediate Release
Contact: Teresa Lyles Holmes
Email: tholmes@balmingilead.org
Phone: 212-730-7381
THE
BALM IN GILEAD LAUNCHES FIFTH ANNUAL OUR CHURCH LIGHTS THE WAY TESTING CAMPAIGN
 NEW
YORK, NY-June 17, 2004…The Balm In Gilead announces the fifth 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 an HIV test.
This campaign, which runs the entire month of June and culminates Sunday, June
27th with National HIV Testing Day, seeks to encourage African Americans to get
tested for HIV and to help Black churches become community centers for HIV/AIDS
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. "This
year on Sunday, June 27th, The Balm In Gilead is asking all religious leaders
to recognize National HIV Testing Day by encouraging their congregants to get
tested, to talk about HIV/AIDS prevention or to take the test themselves,"
says Pernessa C. Seele, founder/CEO of The Balm In Gilead. "Black churches
play an essential role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The good news is that new
advances in technology are allowing us even greater control over and knowledge
about our health."
Of the estimated 40,000 new HIV infections each year, more than 50 percent
occur among African Americans. AIDS is the number one cause of death for Black
adults aged 25 to 44, before heart disease, cancer and homicide.
The Balm In Gilead's pioneering achievements have enabled thousands of churches
to become leaders in preventing HIV by providing comprehensive educational programs
and offering compassionate support to encourage those infected to seek Church-based
programs. The organization has expanded its efforts internationally to address
the devastation of HIV/AIDS in five African countries: Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria,
Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
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 or click
here.
The Balm In Gilead is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization with
a national and international mission to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS throughout
the African Diaspora by building the capacity of faith communities to provide
services, HIV/AIDS education and to build support networks for all people living
with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
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