Philly AIDS Thrift Announces Largest Grant Awards to Date (and a Total-Donations Milestone)

Philly AIDS Thrift (710 S. 5th Street) and Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room (12th and Pine Street) are pleased to announce their grant award winners for 2019. The $246,450.00 that has been awarded to 23 HIV/AIDS service agencies in the Philly region amounts to largest total donation the stores have ever made at one time.

Board chair Michael Byrne commented on the awards, “It’s a lot of work to run a grant awards program, but it’s very satisfying in the end. We ask that our grantees be very specific in the programs our donations will fund, so we know how needed these funds are, and what an impact they can have.”

Store co-founder and co-manager Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou noted how the amount of the awards reflected the store’s growth over the years: “We started so small back in 2005, it is hard to believe that we are giving out nearly a quarter of a million dollars at one time now. I don’t think any of us imagined that back then. We were just trying to keep the heat on and get the word out that we existed.”

Co-founder Tom Brennan added, “It’s actually a double milestone, which snuck up on us. When we hand out the checks on Thursday night, we will surpass two and a half million dollars in total donations. We knew we’d get there soon, but our grant awards total gets us there ahead of schedule. A nice surprise. We love it when we get to a big new number.”

2018 Grant Recipients:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas – CATA – Oureach Farmworker

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • MANNA (Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance) – PLWA Meals

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Siloam – Wellness for HIV
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