For organizations facing a tough funding year, The Campbell Foundation’s annual Holiday Hug is offering a little warmth and a lot of impact across Broward County.
This year, the Foundation awarded $50,000 in Holiday Hug grants to seven local nonprofits providing HIV testing, prevention, outreach and wraparound support services. The annual grants arrive as many HIV service providers face delayed or reduced government funding, even as demand for care remains high in South Florida.
Founded in 1995, The Campbell Foundation is best known for supporting laboratory-based HIV research. But early on, the organization recognized that progress in science must be matched with support for people navigating daily life with HIV.
“People living with HIV need direct support in their everyday lives, not just medical treatment, but crucial things like access to food, shelter, bus passes, and guidance with complex insurance issues [such as] Ryan White,” said Executive Director Ken Rapkin.
That realization led to the creation of the Holiday Hug program in 1996, which has awarded nearly $1.7 million in unrestricted grants since then.
“Our community partners and grantees have told us repeatedly how grateful they are to receive funds at this time of year to use as they best see fit,” Rapkin said. “We consider these grants a big ‘hug’ to say thank you for all these good folks do for the health and well-being of our community.”
While public attention around HIV has faded over time, Rapkin said the science and the data tell a different story.
“While significant progress has been made across the world, HIV is still classified and treated scientifically as an epidemic with over 1.3 million new infections annually,” he said. “Where someone lives is a huge determinant between just surviving or thriving while living with HIV/AIDS.”
This year, World AIDS Day came and went without a public commemoration or formal acknowledgment from the White House. It’s the first time the U.S. has not done so since the day was created in 1988. Meanwhile, the State Department defended the decision, saying “an awareness day is not a strategy.”
But it is clear that whatever strategy is in place is not working. In the U.S., particularly in the South, access to care remains uneven.
“Here in the U.S., there is a crisis in some of the Southern states concerning stigma and access to a continuum of care surrounding HIV,” Rapkin said.
That challenge has been compounded by recent funding decisions at the federal level.
“As someone who has been in the HIV/AIDS funding space since 1995, the federal funding cuts seen over the past year have been staggering,” Rapkin said. “It is a huge blow to researchers, laboratory staff, and those living with HIV/AIDS when programs are eliminated or funding is pulled suddenly with no alternative plans.”
That national pullback has played out inside federal agencies as well. John Weiser, a veteran HIV doctor and researcher, left the Centers for Disease Control this year after pushing back against the removal of transgender data and reductions in HIV prevention funding.
Weiser told KFF Health News: “...it’s bad science to suppress data for ideological reasons and because erasing people from the story harms actual people. I thought about my transgender patients and how I would face them, and what I would say to them while I’m sitting with them in the exam room, knowing that I had erased their existence from [the] CDC.”
Meanwhile, state-level cuts have deepened the crisis for local nonprofits, impacting queer community centers across Florida. The Pride Center at Equality Park lost long-standing support for its HIV testing services, even as South Florida remains one of the hardest-hit regions in the nation for new infections. Even so, The Pride Center said it is committed to continuing free testing through fundraising and community support.
For recipients of the Holiday Hug grants, the funding provides immediate relief.
“This investment strengthens our work, uplifts our community, and helps ensure that our neighbors living with or affected by HIV receive the support they need and deserve,” said Robert Boo, CEO.
Several grants were also matched through the Florida AIDS Walk, doubling their impact, including SunServe, Broward House and The Pride Center.
“We are deeply grateful to The Campbell Foundation for their generous $5,000 donation to our Florida AIDS Walk matching opportunity,” Boo said.
At Latinos Salud, Executive Director Stephen J. Fallon said the organization has been forced to absorb significant losses after grant renewal cycles for HIV and STD services were paused.
“In total, Latinos Salud is absorbing losses of $617,000 this year due to the funding pause,” said Fallon, whose organization received $10,000. “The Campbell Foundation generously increased their support this crucial year, helping to begin closing this budget hole, and ensure we can always welcome community members in for free services.”
Care Resource, one of South Florida’s largest community health centers, received a $10,000 grant to support its HIV prevention and treatment services.
“The Campbell Foundation has a long history of supporting organizations that care for people affected by HIV,” said Karin Sabey, Chief Executive Officer of Care Resource. “We are honored by their generosity, and this gift will help us continue delivering essential health services to the individuals and families we serve.”
At Poverello, the $10,000 funding directly translates into food security for people living with HIV.
“With the funds given, we're now able to add a little over 133 weeks' worth of groceries that participants choose to help create food security,” said Thomas Pietrogallo, CEO.
The last recipient is Comprehensive Care Center/Broward Health, which received $5,000.
As The Campbell Foundation marks its 30th year, Rapkin says the work is far from finished.
“Some people think ‘HIV is over,’ yet we have funded many studies looking into comorbidities that affect people living with HIV,” he said. “HIV infection causes inflammation of every system in our bodies, which leads to premature aging — a big area of study in this field.”
Rapkin continued: “Our battle isn't over until we have a cure. The Campbell Foundation is proud to have been part of the fight for 30 years in our community and around the world.”
For local HIV service providers, this year’s Holiday Hug is exactly that, a much-needed embrace at a time of funding cuts and deep uncertainty.
