 |
|
photo by steed media service
|
President and CEO, AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Mark Ishaug has helped make the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) one of
the premier organizations in the country. As the president and CEO of
the AFC, Ishaug runs programs that serve approximately 5,000 people
living with HIV and AIDS in Chicago and its suburbs.
“Every
day, we make a difference. We support agencies that prevent new
infections and we provide primary medical care and drugs to people that
otherwise would not have that,” says Ishaug. As a result of his work
with various entitites, Ishaug said almost no children are born with
HIV anymore. “This is a huge success thanks to one of our partner
agencies, Pediatric AIDS Chicago.”
AFC is participating in
several joint ventures, including Dance for Life (DFL), an annual dance
spectacular that brings together some of Chicago’s best dance companies
to raise money to fight HIV/AIDS.
“We’ve got to keep having events like Dance for Life to raise money, awareness and media attention,” says Ishaug.
Through
another AFC initiative, “Women’s Collaborative,” women who patronize
their local beauty salons have the opportunity to learn about HIV, as
well as how to protect themselves and their partners. “Everybody’s got
to believe that they can do something to end this epidemic,” he says.
“We need both the political will and the resources to do it, and
hundreds of volunteers. There’s no secret about how to end AIDS.”
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago will host the AIDS Run and Walk Chicago on Sept. 15 in Grant Park. –tarin harris
If you’re interested in volunteering, please visit www.aidschicago.org.
