In Kalamazoo and Battle Creek:

• Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1 p.m.-6 p.m. at CARES, 629 Pioneer St., Kalamazoo
• 1st Wednesday of every month from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at the Edison Neighborhood Association, 816 Washington Ave., Kalamazoo
• 2nd Wednesday of every month from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at the Vine Neighborhood Association, 511 W. Vine, Kalamazoo
• 3rd Wednesday of every month from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at S.H.A.R.E. Center, 120 Grove St., Battle  Creek
• 4th Wednesday of every month from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at Ministry with Community, 440 N. Church St., Kalamazoo

Participating partners in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek include the Edison Neighborhood Association, the Vine Neighborhood Association, the S.H.A.R.E. Center and Ministry with Community.

In Benton Harbor:

• Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. for walk-ins, or by appointment from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. at CARES, 185 E. Main St., Suite 604, Benton Harbor
• National Testing Day – Monday, June 27 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Benton Harbor Street Ministry, 200 E. Empire Avenue in Benton Harbor

Participating partners in Benton Harbor’s National HIV Testing Day event include the Berrien County Health Department, Lakeland Health Specialties, United Way of Southwest Michigan, Bethel Christian Restoration Center, Benton Harbor Street Ministry, The OutCenter, Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency and community volunteers.  This event will also offer colon cancer screening kits, as well as cholesterol and blood pressure screenings.

For more information, please call CARES at 269-381-2437 (Kalamazoo) or 269-927-2437 (Benton Harbor.)

What I enjoy most about Dining Out For life is the community support.  Sometimes in the world of non-profits and deficit budgets and flat funding I feel like we’re out here doing the work by ourselves.  Then we have DOFL and when I welcome people to the restaurant and they say, “yes, we know, that’s why we’re here” I could cry!  I forget that there are MANY people out there who are affected by HIV and support our work in so many ways.  Thank you from all of us infected/affected and fighting the stigma a ripple at a time.

Now in its third year, the fundraiser put on by CARES has grown from 8 restaurants raising $16,000 in 2009 to 22 restaurants raising $40,000 in 2010, to 34 participating restaurants this year.  Kalamazoo is among 56 cities participating in this effort in the U.S. and Canada.  All proceeds from the local Dining Out For Life event will stay in the Kalamazoo community except the cost for the event’s licensing fee.

CARES volunteers will be present at each venue to provide information and to spread awareness. Please join us and enjoy great food for a great cause!   See the list of participating merchants at diningoutforlife.com/kalamazoo/participating

The total spending cuts in the CR will exceed $74 billion, including $58 billion in non-security discretionary spending reductions. The statement by Chairman Rogers on these cuts follows:

“Never before has Congress undertaken a task of this magnitude.  The cuts in this CR will represent the largest reduction in discretionary spending in the history of our nation.

“While making these cuts is hard, we have a unique opportunity to right our fiscal ship and begin to reduce our massive deficits and debt.  We have taken a wire brush to the discretionary budget and scoured every program to find real savings that are responsible and justifiable to the American people. 

“Make no mistake, these cuts are not low-hanging fruit.  These cuts are real and will impact every District across the country – including my own.  As I have often said, every dollar we cut has a constituency, an industry, an association, and individual citizens who will disagree with us. But with this CR, we will respond to the millions of Americans who have called on this Congress to rein in spending to help our economy grow and our businesses create jobs.”

A few of the Spending Cuts to be Included in the CR:

·         Community Health Centers  -$1.3B

·         Maternal and Child Health Block Grants  -$210M

·         Family Planning  -$327M

·         CDC   -$755M

·         NIH   -$1B

·         Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services   -$96M

·         LIHEAP Contingency fund   -$400M

·         Community Services Block Grant   -$405M

·         HUD Community Development Fund   -$530M

 David Feaster, CARES Interim Co-Director, shares his view:  “This is one proposal including cuts to vital social services that were considered for reducing the budget deficit.  Politicians on both the Federal level, like this, and at the State Level like Michigan’s proposed House Bill 4022 are trying to let the citizens know that they are working on the budget and they are making very partisan political statements by showing what they believe to be expendable.  It will be interesting to see how much of this ended up in the presidents brand new budget.  This type of posturing is designed to get your attention, and it should!  We should all be concerned about what organizations and services might be cut.  Remember, you have a voice, use it.  Let your representatives know how you feel…”

 To see the complete list of proposed cuts, visit the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations webpage at http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=259

Please visit www.diningoutforlife.com often in the weeks ahead to see which area restaurants are participating this year, show your support by attending with friends and loved ones, and help spread the word about this special event!

HIV/AIDS has impacted our life’s in one way or the other rather it be a family member or close friend, or the town gossip of somebody who is suspected to have the disease.  During the Month of February and the early part of March let us find ways to combat stigma and educate the people about HIV/AIDS in the African American Community.

Here is a fact that many may not know: Blacks account for 13% of the US population but account for 53% of all new HIV infections according to the CDC.  To me as a young black male that number is alarming because that means there are people out there that don’t know they are living with HIV.  The question maybe asked “Why aren’t these people getting tested?”  The answers vary, but the number one thing is stigma.  Stigma from peers, from uneducated people, doctors, churches, places of business and the number one enemy  the media.  There is nothing more nerve wrecking then taking an HIV test and waiting for the results, but to add insult to injury is when you have stigma going on top of nerves.  During these next six weeks let’s reflect on how we can empower the black community to get tested and inspire others to test.

Whirlpool Angels who made pick-up day a cinch: Michelle Bowie, Milissa Gomez and Mary Beth Waning. Photo by Matthew Bradley.

Once again, Whirlpool employees have generously donated time, talent, funds and gifts to brighten the holidays for 33 CARES  clients and their families.  62 children will be receiving gifts in 2010.

Mary Beth Waning coordinated the event at Whirlpool this year, with the Whirlpool PRIDE Network and the Whirlpool Young Professional Network. 

Fundraising began with Blue Jean Fridays in September, when Whirlpool employees donated one dollar to wear jeans to work on Fridays.  This effort, sponsored by the Whirlpool PRIDE Network, raised $1,624 for the Angel Tree program.  During the first week  of December, the Whirlpool Young Professional Network held a bake sale which raised another $1,200.

In November, each Benton Harbor/St. Joseph-area Whirlpool facility put up holiday trees with anonymous Angel ornaments for each child participating in the program.  The ornaments listed the gender and age of each child, as well as any wished-for or needed items.  Employees were able to choose an ornament and shop for that child. 

The bitter cold and swirling snows of Monday, December 13th found members of both the Kalamazoo and Benton Harbor CARES staff working alongside Whirlpool’s Michelle Bowie, Milissa Gomez and Mary Beth Waning to get the gifts loaded and ready for distribution.

Our staff is especially grateful for Whirlpool’s continuing support of our clients and our mission.  Please check out our website, www.caresswm.org in the coming days to see stories in our blogging section, sharing how the Angel Tree program touches the lives of some of the families we serve.

Happy Holidays!

Paula Wilson, Berrien County Health Department, Antoine Headspeth, Pastor of Bethel Christian Restoration Church & CCOP

Thank you to everyone in Berrien County who participated in the World AIDS Day event on December 1st!  A total of 22 individuals were tested for HIV (16 tested via Ora-Sure and 6 tested via rapid testing.)  The majority of those tested were of the highest-risk behavior groups in Berrien County.   Ten of those tested had never previously tested for HIV.   A higher-than-anticipated turn-out resulted in extending testing two hours past the advertised end-time.

The event took place at the OutCenter offices at 132 Water Street in Downtown Benton Harbor, and we thank Jennifer Hsu and staff for hosting the event.  Thank you also to the Berrien County Health Department, and specifically, Peggy Hammel and Paula Wilson who participated in their respective capacities. 

In addition, we would like to express our thanks to representatives of our other community partners: Bethel Christian Restoration Center (Pastor Headspeth,) Delta Sigma Theta (Syreeta Cheatom,) the Benton Harbor Street Ministry and Whirlpool PRIDE organizations for their continued support.