Avian Watson is the deputy director for The Vision Community Foundation where she spearheads philanthropic initiatives for the Atlanta community including Bread of Life Homeless, Successful Minds GED Program, Vision Tops Youth Mentorship and HIV/AIDS testing. Watson also serves as the sponsorship director and publicist for Traxx Girls, Inc., generating advertising dollars for entertainment event collaboration, developing brand strategies and growing the company’s media traffic.
Here, Watson talks about her role in the The Vision Community Foundation, the history behind the health fairs she curates and her reaction to the same sex marriage ruling.
What is your role with the foundation?
I am the deputy director for all the programs, initiatives and fundraisers. Basically, anything that takes place within the foundation, I oversee it.
What can attendees expect from this year’s festival?
We have so many great initiatives coming up for this year’s festival. We are providing tons of HIV/AIDS testing and we will be testing for diabetes, as well. Wells Fargo and Suntrust have come through tremendously for us this year with sponsorship. It’t going to be an all-around great day that we are going to be hosting. The progress really shows the inner work we’ve been doing on a daily basis. The people I am able to have in my circle are a blessing for me.
How long have you been putting on the health fairs?
The original health fair began a little over a decade ago. This will be the fourth year we have held one during the Gay Black Pride Festival. This will be more of an outdoor study for us. We have a lot of health fair partners, including Emory’s HIV and AIDS vaccine clinic and Fulton County Health and Wellness. Getting tested is so important, so we want to advocate that to people. We want them to know that even if you don’t have the disease and [your] partner is living with it, you should have a plan to invest and make money for your significant other to help them sustain life. We are actually the first Pride to happen during a time in Atlanta when the LGBTQ community has been granted equal rights. The City has been very welcoming, so having that support makes the celebration that much better.
How did the same-sex marriage ruling affect you?
Overall, it was just absolutely a “wow” moment for me. To know that love prevailed gave me an amazing feeling. These people have had to fight for those rights for a long time, so to know they have overcome that obstacle and can love freely is paramount.
