SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AIDS Healthcare Foundation:
| What: |
Free condom distribution & HIV testing event by Condom Nation in partnership with the Community Action Project of Western Nebraska (CAPWN) |
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| When: |
FRIDAY, July 19th 3 pm – 7 pm |
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| Where: | Parking lot of Ftc Express | ||
| 121 W. 27th St. (at Avenue B) | |||
| Scottsbluff, NE 69361 | |||
| B-Roll: | Custom-wrapped 18-wheel Condom Nation big rig and matching HIV testing van providing free condoms and testing | ||
| Contacts: | |||
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ON THE ROAD – Marco Benjamin, Condom Nation Program Manager, +1.347.577.2757 |
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SCOTTSBLUFF – Pat Bastron, Community Action Project of Western Nebraska Reproductive Heath Program, +1.308.633.2770 or pbastron@capwn.org |
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LOS ANGELES – Kyveli Diener, AHF Marketing & Communications Coordinator, +1.310.779.4796 (mobile) or +1.323.960.4846 (office) |
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The mobile condom distribution team that distributed 5.5 million condoms throughout the U.S. last year, Condom Nation – an initiative from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization – has launched their second U.S. tour and is finishing its Nebraska tour leg this Friday with an event in Scottsbluff! This is the last of four stops in Nebraska, where the team has partnered with government and nongovernment organizations to distribute thousands of free condoms and provide free HIV testing at each event.
At the premiere Nebraska event in Omaha last Saturday, the team distributed 70,000 free condoms and tested 18 people for HIV, and subsequent stops in Lincoln on Monday and Grand Island on Wednesday were equally successful. On Friday, July 19, the team’s specially decorated big rig and matching sprinter testing van will be parked in the parking lot of Ftc Express at 121 W. 27th Street (at Avenue B) from 3 pm – 7 pm. There, Condom Nation representatives – including HIV advocate and Condom Nation Program Manager Marco Benjamin and Truck Manager Pat Ruiz – will hand out free condoms to the public.
Local partners for Wednesday’s event include the Nebraska Red Ribbon Community (NRRC), the Community Action Plan of Western Nebraska (CAPWN) Reproductive Health and Migrant Health Programs, Nebraska’s Ryan White Program, and the Nebraska HIV CARE and Prevention Consortium (NHCPC).
Since leaving Los Angeles on March 10th, the team and their 18-wheel, 72-foot custom-wrapped big rig and matching HIV testing sprinter van have distributed over 1.5 million free condoms and tested more than 300 people for HIV at events in Texas, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Washington, D.C, New Jersey, and Massachusetts before returning to Ohio for National HIV Testing Day at the end of June.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 1.4 million cases of chlamydia were reported in 2011, and reporting of new gonorrhea cases saw its second consecutive year of increase with more than 300,000 new cases that year. These are just some of the estimated 20 million new STD cases reported annually, half of which occur in young people aged 15 -24. The CDC estimates the health care costs to the nation for treating these diseases – which are preventable through condom use – to be about $16 billion per year.
“Condom Nation is about access to condoms,” said Condom Nation Director James Vellequette. “Our goal is to make condoms easily and readily available for free or at a very minimal cost to those receiving them through our widespread, national, fun and motivated distribution efforts. Simultaneously, we need to eliminate the stigma around having condoms, carrying them, selling them, or best of all, giving them away so that everyone has access to them whenever they need them.”
About AHF
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is the largest non-profit HIV/AIDS healthcare provider in the USA. AHF currently provides medical care and/or services to over 200,000 individuals in 28 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @AIDSHealthcare
