Page 9 - Florida Sentinel 10-20-17

Local
‘Compassion Sunday’ Involves Everyone In The Battle Against HIV/AID
Members of Pastors on Patrol churches are asked to donate $1 each to continue the fight against HIV/AIDS.
It may be overshadowed by all that’s happened in this troubled year, but HIV/AIDS continues to exact a terrible toll on individuals and fami- lies. African-Americans are hit the hardest:
• They make up 12% of the population, but 48% of all HIV/AIDS cases
• African-American wo- men represent 75% of all new cases
• Florida leads the country in the number of new cases
• Hillsborough County has more per-capita cases than
anywhere in Florida
Federal funding to find a
cure is being cut significantly, but Pastors on Patrol member churches are fighting back this week during “Compassion Sunday” on October 23rd. Each person in their congre- gations is being asked to con- tribute $1 to continue the fight against this dreaded disease. All proceeds will help under- write AIDS research con- ducted through the National Black Commission on AIDS.
However, Pastor W. James Favorite of Beulah Baptist Church says that everyone needs to recognize what’s at stake: “HIV/AIDS can happen to anyone, and we all need to step up and help those afflicted by this horrible
disease. It’s a lot bigger than the churches that get in- volved.”
Pastor Favorite is also President of Pastors on Patrol, and he’s especially troubled by how HIV/AIDS has been kept
in the shadows: “The stigma of having AIDS is so strong that it hurts our efforts to pre- vent the disease in the first place. This simply has to change.”
If you want to help make
that change happen quicker, tax-deductible donations can be mailed to Beulah Baptist Church at 1006 West Cypress Street, Tampa, Florida 33606. You can learn more by calling (813) 251-5591.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 9-A