By SARAH BENNETT
DavidsonNews.net
Since 1984 Warner Hall, a women’s social and philanthropic organization at Davidson College, has made HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention a major cause. In recent years, Warner’s women have hosted the annual Red and Black Ball as a fund-raiser for local and international organizations that share those goals.
The 2010 ball is this Saturday, Dec. 4, at 8 p.m. in Chambers Hall’s Lily Family Gallery on the Davidson campus. Proceeds will go to the Regional Aids Interfaith Networks (RAIN) in Charlotte, as well as the Mwandi Christian Mission Hospital in Mwandi, Zambia.
The hospital in Mwandi.
THE CAUSES
Founded in 1992, RAIN, is the largest HIV/AIDS non-profit in the Charlotte metropolitan area. It serves thousands of people – hosting educational workshops and awareness events as well as providing practical support to those with HIV/AIDS in the form of counseling, peer support, and healthcare advice.
Money raised at the Ball will go toward RAIN’s newest project, the construction of Center City Health. This medical clinic will specifically serve those who have traditionally had difficulty accessing medical care, as well as HIV/AIDS patients.
Maternity ward at the hospital in Mwandi
Davidson College has been working with the Mwandi Christian Mission Hospital since 1995. Each summer a group of students travels to Mwandi to learn and assist with various services such as immunization programs and HIV testing. Funds from the Red and Black Ball have allowed the hospital to completely renovate their infectious disease ward as well as construct a new maternity ward.
One of the hospital’s latest projects is to reconfigure one of the larger rooms into an emergency room. The hospital’s current ER is the size of a closet, and the lack of space and equipment has proved fatal for some patients who could be saved simply by access to an IV. Construction is already underway but the funds from this year’s ball will help purchase the equipment necessary for the ER to function.
WANT TO GO?
The Red & Black Ball will feature a dessert and drink bar, a raffle and silent auction items ranging from beach vacations to iPods, and plenty of dancing. The Brothership, a band out of Raleigh, will also be performing late into the night.’
The ball runs Dec. 4 from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., with a live band from 9-1. Tickets are$15 for students, $20 for faculty and staff, and $25 for community members. (All prices increase by $5 at the door.)
To order tickets, please email Nitya Rao (nirao@davidson.edu).
Read more about the ball and Warner Hall on the Red and Black Ball website.
