-Courtesy of Broad Street Communications
photo by Albert Yee
This annual AIDS Fund party features glamorous Drag Queen performances, six rounds of GayBINGO featuring the Bingo Verifying Divas (BVDs), cocktails, a silent auction, dinner and dancing — all while raising funds for people living with HIV disease in the Philly area. Held April 6th at Loews Philadelphia Hotel, the event is Black-Tie optional.
This year, AIDS Fund will present Ronald Collman, MD, Director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research and a professor of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, with its Fierce and Fabulous Award. The Fierce and Fabulous Award commemorates an individual who has made a significant contribution to the Philadelphia HIV/AIDS and/or LGBTQ+ communities.
“Keeping the fight against AIDS going is such a high priority, and it’s my honor to support AIDS Fund, which directly reaches and helps the most vulnerable people in our community touched by HIV/AIDS, just as it’s my privilege to lead the group of researchers in the Penn Center for AIDS Research who are working to find new scientific solutions to advance this mission,” says Ron Collman.
Ron has been Director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research (Penn CFAR) since 2015, and for 16 years before that served as director of the CFAR’s Viral/Molecular Core and then as CFAR Co-Director. The Penn CFAR’s mission is to galvanize research that will advance the fight against HIV across all scientific domains including HIV prevention, improving treatment, reducing complications in people living and aging with HIV, research towards an AIDS vaccine and a cure, as well as fundamental virology and immunology.
Ron was one of the founding board members of ActionAIDS in Philadelphia in the 1980s. In 2002, he joined with physicians from several other countries to help establish the first national antiretroviral treatment program in sub-Saharan Africa in the country of Botswana, which continues to be a model for delivering HIV treatment in the region.
Ron lives in Washington Square West with his partner Domingos. He has been a participant in the AIDS Walk for the past three decades and was the top fundraising walker at the most recent AIDS Walk.
“Ron was our top fundraising walker at the 2023 AIDS Walk and has supported AIDS Fund for the last three decades!,” said Robb Reichard, Executive Director of AIDS Fund. “As the Director of the Penn Center for AIDS Research, he’s dedicated his career to our shared cause through research, education, on-the-ground programs, and more. We are thrilled to recognize his lifetime of personal and professional service by naming him our next Fierce and Fabulous awardee!”
AIDS Fund will also present Maddy Milan with a Silver Stiletto in appreciation of her 10 years of service as a Bingo Verifying Diva (BVD) at GayBINGO. Maddy lives in Fishtown and won the title of Miss Hammonton Pride 2022.
Black-Tie GayBINGO, a signature Philadelphia event, will take place at 6:30 pm on Saturday, April 6, 2024, in the Regency Ballroom at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia. Tickets are $200 per person. For tickets, call 215-486-4347 or visit aidsfundphilly.org. Black-Tie GayBINGO is sponsored by PECO an Exelon Company, Philly AIDS Thrift, PAT @ Giovanni’s Room, Tavern Group (Tavern on Camac, Tavern, UBar, Otto’s Tap Room & Grill), Jefferson Health, Goldstein’s Rosenberg’s Raphael-Sacks, and Univest Financial.
In addition to the annual Black-Tie GayBINGO, AIDS Fund’s monthly GayBINGO events raise vital funds for HIV/AIDS emergency financial assistance and HIV awareness efforts. Each of these casual events has a fun theme and offers cash prizes. GayBINGO is held once a month on Saturday nights at Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 North Broad Street in Philadelphia. Doors open at 6 p.m. and all games begin at 7 p.m. This event has raised over $4.8 million to date. The 2024 schedule features: DivaPalooza GayBINGO! on April 13, Divas and Dragons GayBINGO! on May 11, and The Real Housewives of GayBINGO Ultimate Girls Trip! on June 8.
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