25TH ANIVERSARY OF ACTION AIDS & SAVING LIVES

The Action Aids held it’s 25th Anniversary Gala at Stephen Starr’s The Arts Ballroom at 1324 Locust St with it’s Tiffany blue painting and Swarovski Crystal Chandeliers, a week ago Saturday as leaders, volunteers and community members came together to mingle and celebrate 25 years of making a difference in peoples lives. Above Ann Bicksecker and Deborah Wagner check out the silent auction items.
Kevin Burns, Executive Director, Action AIDS, Three Friends for Life awards were handed out at the event to Bob Schoenberg, the first president of the ActionAIDS’s board and current director of the University of Pennsylvania’s LGBT Center; Rich Lampkins, Director of Administration at Multifamily Management of Philadelphia, LLC Anna Forbes, the first staff member to ever work with clients during the early years of the crisis and Rev. Jim Littrell, the first director of ActionAIDS;
The Arts Ballroom was really beautiful, the first of it’s kind that I can recall in Center City that is not connected to a hotel, but a stand a lone events space similar to Cescaphe Ballroom in Northern Liberties.
Executive Director Kevin Burns notes Action AIDS first helped “people die with dignity” but is “now helping people to live with the HIV disease.” To his left is Mayor Michael Nutter who read a commendation from the City on behalf of Actions AIDS 25th Anniversary.
Although equality in access to care remains an Action AIDS focus, its mission also encompasses housing and quality-of-life issues. And, while its roots are in the gay community, the organization inclusively serves marginalized populations across lines of sexuality, gender, ethnicity, and age.
David McElroy, Elizabeth Schaaf, Blair and Paul Pallas. In a years time David and Biz will be in wedded bliss, without any help from Tough Love’s Steve Ward.
Jim Lonsdale, Patrick Neiland, Don Tobias and Tim
Ennes Littrell, former executive director of ActionAIDS, Henry Bernstein and Ken Kleinman
Ed Hermance, owner of Giovanni’s Room: the world’s oldest LGBTQ bookstore. The store now has had its place in history officially recognized by the state of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission honored the Philadelphia bookstore on October 9 with a state historical marker commemorating its role as a “refuge and cultural center” during the birth of the modern lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights movement.Bruce Yelk and Brian Goldthorpe, are two guys who are doing big things in the community. Check out NightLifeGay.com for events coming up that might interest you.
Natalie Hope McDonald and Meg Rider, Magee Rehab. Natalie is a freelance writer, editor and photographer based in Philadelphia with 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. She is also the editor of the G Philly. an online magazine by Philadelphia Magazine.
Chris Bartlett, executive director of the William Way Center, addresses the crowd, praising the work of leaders and volunteers at ActionAIDS over the past quarter century.
Robert Ferrier, Xiaowen Tang, Judge Dan Anders and Anh Dang greet Mayor Nutter as Michael Byrne, Director of Development, looks on.
The Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus perform a special number for the occasion.
The next big event to be held at The Arts Ballroom is a throwback to theROARING! A 1920s Event
Features Flappers, Jazz, Art and High Spirits Dalet Gallery & Noel Zayas Events salutes the 1920s with a lavish Prohibition-era social event at the Arts Ballroom, located at 1324 Locust Street, on Thursday, November 10, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Avenue of the Arts, Inc., (AAI), supporting the growth and development of the Avenue of the Arts. It’s the perfect venue for such an event as there is an air of sophisticated speakeasy atmosphere.