FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 10, 2009
Contact: Jennifer Sarch&eactue;, Director of Community Programs
HIV Research Section, AIDS Office, San Francisco Department of Public Health
Office: (415) 554-4297
Fax: (415) 731-4029
www.helpfighthiv.org
PIONEERING ORGANIZATIONS TEAM UP TO CREATE MORE HOPEFUL FUTURE
HIV Research Section and Taproot Foundation Address Evolving Landscape of the HIV/AIDS
San Francisco, CA - The HIV Research Section of the San Francisco Department of Public Health is pleased to announce it is the recipient of a Key Messages and Brand Strategy Service Grant award from the Taproot Foundation. With the assistance of the Taproot Foundation, the Research Unit will develop concise, effective ways of communicating its mission and scope of work. The goal is to broaden its network of community partners and deepen community involvement in setting the course of its research agenda.
The HIV Research Section has engaged in innovative prevention studies for the past twenty years, welcoming guidance from the greater HIV-affected community. However, the increasing complexity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic calls for a fresh way of partnering, requiring strong community leadership. With this in mind, the grant from the Taproot Foundation will allow the HIV Research Section to develop and launch a new initiative within the most highly-affected communities in San Francisco that will identify strategies to increase HIV testing, treatment, and prevention interventions.
"We are energized by piloting a model of community leadership in the field of HIV prevention," said Susan Buchbinder, MD, Director of the HIV Research Section. "I am confident that this partnership with the Taproot Foundation will help us to strengthen our ability to tell our story."
The success of the new initiative will be seen not only in increased testing, treatment and prevention approaches, but will engender new relationships while fortifying current ones.
Tim Barron, Account Director with the Taproot foundation will lead this Messaging and Branding project with a team of four other Taproot foundation volunteers. Mr. Barron has worked in marketing management and branding for the past 10 years and served an impressive array of clients, including Hewlett Packard, Ciba Vision, Apple Inc, and Sprint. "It's a real pleasure for me to be able to contribute my skills and expertise as a Taproot volunteer and know that our work will benefit this organization and allow it to communicate more effectively with a consistent and meaningful message to both its local and international communities," says Barron.
ABOUT TAPROOT FOUNDATION
The Taproot Foundation has led the way in leveraging skills of the business community to provide nonprofits with free, reliable, high-quality consulting services. As the country's largest nonprofit consulting firm, the organization has engaged over 2,000 business professionals in rewarding pro bono work, delivering more than $21 million worth of services to over 450 nonprofits in Chicago, New York, and the Bay Area. More information is available at www.taprootfoundation.org.
ABOUT THE HIV RESEARCH SECTION
Since the early 1980s, the HIV Research Section's mission has been to develop interventions that reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS locally and globally. The Section is currently pursuing that mission on several fronts, including identifying risk factors for HIV infections and disease progression, conducting clinical trials of a variety of HIV prevention strategies (e.g. preventive vaccines, pre-exposure prophylaxis, peer counseling and health navigation), and engaging highly affected communities in the research process. For more information, visit www.helpfighthiv.org.
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