Olivia-2/5/10-Aid for AIDS

For my first visit, my group and I went down to 120 Wall Street to volunteer with Aid for AIDS. Aid for AIDS NYC is an organization that collects donations from the public such as medicine and wheelchairs and uses them to support people living with HIV/AIDS and provides services for Latin American and Caribbean immigrants. It also serves as a liaison between these individuals and the social workers adept ant providing medical care and assistance. Since there were seven of us (plus Sarah), we were split into groups of three and four and shown around the building before we were given individual jobs. The woman showing us around was named Hannah McDurmont. She first showed my group and I the medicine storage, where they kept the medication donated by people from all around the world. We were shown the packages that the medication arrived from and looked at the addresses of each of them. Hannah then showed us to a room which was crowded with wheelchairs and crutches, all being organized and made ready for shipment to Haiti.

After the tour was finished, my group and I were given the task of folding posters and sorting flyers that would be mailed to supporters in envelopes. The aim was to spread the word of what Aid for AIDS was doing and get people to donate. The other group was given a stack of miniature pamphlets that they would fold to also be mailed in the hopes of getting others aware. In all, the visit was very informative and interesting and the people were both inviting and kind.