PRESS
ROOM
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 5th,
2005
Contact : Joni Bishop - Director of Development
and PR
BEBASHI
and Daily News Unveils 2005 Sexy Singles Calendar
Philadelphia, PA - This year, BEBASHI
commemorates 20 years of service as the first AIDS service
organization to target the African American community!
In honor of our 20 year anniversary, BEBASHI and the Daily
News have partnered to produce a 2005 Sexy Singles Calendar
in an effort to raise funds for HIV + women with children.
Calendars are available for a $10 donation.
To purchase a calendar pick one up at the Daily News Building located at 400 North Broad
Street or at BEBASHI located at 1217 Spring Garden Street,
or, you may visit www.bebashi.org
or www.philly.com. In addition, everyone who
purchases a 2005 Sexy Singles Calendar will be eligible
to enter in a raffle to win $1,000 cash by filling out the
coupon on the back cover and returning it to BEBASHI.
The calendar
features the regions 25 hottest that were in the 2004 Annual
Sexy Singles issue in the Daily News last summer.
The
number of women in the United States acquiring HIV each
year through unsafe sex is increasing. In 2003, heterosexual
contact with an infected partner led to an estimated 79%
of new HIV diagnoses and 71% of new AIDS diagnoses. There
are approximately 15,400 people living with AIDS in Pennsylvania,
and about half of those live in Philadelphia, according
to the state and city Health Departments. In Philadelphia,
more than 40% of those diagnosed with AIDS reported they
got the disease from sleeping with someone of the opposite
sex. Women represent one of the fastest growing groups if
HIV infection in Philadelphia, and disproportionately so
in minority groups. In fact, in Philadelphia, 87% of the
women diagnosed with AIDS in 2002 were black, Latino or
Asian.
BEBASHI
was founded in 1985, due to the alarming increase of HIV/AIDS
in the African American community of Philadelphia. Our original
efforts focused on street outreach to areas of the community
most in need of prevention information and the least likely
to receive it. Today, we continue to conduct street outreach,
but have expanded to include a comprehensive prevention
program that includes HIV, STD and pregnancy testing and
counseling, Case Management, Housing Counseling, Care Outreach,
Support Groups, Food Cupboard, and have developed culturally-appropriate
models of sexual health education all of which have been
models for similar programs throughout the nation. We serve
15,000 annually and all of our services are free of charge.
Our mission is to provide culturally sensitive
health related information, direct service, research, and
technical assistance to the urban community.
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