This holiday season, HIV service providers in southern Florida received Holiday Hug grants totaling $50,000 from The Campbell Foundation, a Fort Lauderdale–based organization that funds HIV and AIDS research, according to a press release.

 

The annual Holiday Hug grants provide organizations with unrestricted funds to use as they see fit, whether it’s providing HIV testing, support, education or other services.

 

This year’s grants focus on organizations in Florida’s Broward County that offer essential HIV and AIDS services.

 

Broward County has high rates of HIV compared with other counties throughout the state. In 2023, there were 552 newly diagnosed HIV cases in the county. What’s more, in 2022, only about 39% of HIV-negative people at risk for HIV  ages 16 and older were prescribed PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV), according to the Ending the HIV Epidemic.

 

“We know that resources are stretched thin, and the need in Broward County is urgent,” said Ken Rapkin, executive director of The Campbell Foundation, in the release. “By focusing our end-of-the-year funding locally, we can ensure that these funds directly support the organizations on the front lines of HIV prevention and care.”

 

This year’s grant recipients are:

 

  • Broward House: $5,000 (matching funds from AIDS Healthcare Foundation via Florida AIDS Walk)
  • Care Resource: $10,000
  • Comprehensive Care Center/Broward Health: $5,000
  • Latinos Salud: $10,000
  • Poverello: $10,000
  • Pride Center at Equality Park: $5,000 (matching funds from AIDS Healthcare Foundation via Florida AIDS Walk)
  • Sunserve: $5,000 (matching funds from AIDS Healthcare Foundation via Florida AIDS Walk.

 

“These grants will help sustain vital services, such as HIV testing, counseling, prevention education, food assistance and outreach programs—all of which are essential to reducing new infections and supporting those living with HIV/AIDS,” said Campbell Foundation trustee Bill Venuti in the release.

 

Established in 1995, The Campbell Foundation funds nontraditional laboratory-based HIV research. It has awarded over $12.5 million over the years.

 

To read about the organization’s impact, click #Campbell Foundation. There, you’ll see headlines such as “Why Don’t Hepatitis B Vaccines Work as Well for People With HIV?” and “Genetically Modifying Your CAR-T Cells to Defeat HIV.”