More volunteers needed for Red Ribbon Appeal

NSW-based LGBTI health promotion organisation ACON is still on the hunt for more volunteers to assist with the annual Red Ribbon street appeal in the lead-up to World AIDS Day.

Volunteers are needed in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Lismore, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour to sell Red Ribbon merchandise and collect donations at selected locations on Sunday, November 30 and World AIDS Day itself on Monday, December 1. There is also an option to sell ribbons in the workplace.

ACON chief executive Nicolas Parkhill said the event is the organisation’s most important fundraising activity for the year.

“The money we raise through the Ending HIV Red Ribbon Appeal is vital to the work of ACON as it helps us run programs and services that are essential to ending the HIV epidemic in NSW,” he said.

“Thanks to recent advances in HIV treatments and testing technologies, we now have the ability to virtually eliminate HIV transmission in NSW by the end of the decade.

“But to realise this goal, we need to get people to test more, treat early and stay safe. And to do that, we need to expand our rapid testing service, increase education about the benefits of early treatment and get more gay men to practice safe sex.

“The more funds we have to support this work, the more effective our work will be. And the more volunteers we have on the street for World AIDS Day, the more funds we can raise.”

To volunteer to sell ribbons on the street or in your workplace, visit www.endinghiv.org.au or contact your nearest ACON office