Скачать или смотреть Girls In-Service at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park

Community
Education
Activism
Service
Purpose

This month our Girls In-Service program headed to the National AIDS Memorial Grove in beautiful Golden Gate Park-San Francisco for our service project.

With this event, the girls learned about the AIDS epidemic that swept the town of San Francisco (and the world) in the 80s and witnessed parts of the AIDS Quilt display. Panels were set out for our group intentionally, so as girls did the math, they got in touch with the reality that kids and teens died of AIDS too. This was a shocker to many of the girls, and we talked about how little was known when the disease came on the scene and how far research, education, and medication has come. But prior to the development of research, a lot of people died and in the process many were shunned by their families and friends. It was a scary and sad time. And it is a part of our history to remember and learn from.

In addition to the education the girls received, they tended to part of the Grove in Golden Gate Park and with that, made some friends with the Fruit Punch Guys, who are a group of men who get together to raise money for HIV and AIDS research.

At the closing ceremony, we held hands and hugged one another as some of us remembered those who have died of AIDS, and the girls bore witness to the beauty coming together and remembering brings.

This was a special event for each of us in our own way. For me, I worked with people living and dying with HIV and AIDS early on in my career. At the closing circle, I had the opportunity to remember the people who allowed me to be a part of their life, and those who allowed me to be at their death. And for the girls, they shared how special this event was because they really felt like they were part of a community.

These experiences and service projects will impact our girls in a bigger way than I may ever know. My hope is, it starts a spark to find some thing they’re passionate about. I hope they find a reason to live in purpose and service to something greater than themselves. Because, my friends, that makes for a very rich life worth living.