Volunteer Honored for Work with AIDS Group

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Volunteer Honored for Work with AIDS Group

Providence Journal-Bulletin (12.27.01) - Friday, December 28, 2001
SI Rosenbaum

After more than a decade of service, Doreen Blue of Warwick, R.I., has been named Volunteer of the Month by the Volunteer Center of Rhode Island. Once a month, Blue shares a stage with drag queen Aurora Borealis. Blue calls the numbers for AIDS Project Rhode Island's monthly Gay Bingo fund-raiser at the Riviera Bingo Hall. "I'm the straight man, the one who has to do the official stuff, and we bounce off each other," Blue explained. Blue has been the caller for Gay Bingo since its inception four years ago, but that's only a fraction of her volunteer work, most of it for Providence-based AIDS Project Rhode Island.

Blue said she became involved with the AIDS Project more than a decade ago when the AIDS epidemic was gaining widespread recognition as a national health crisis. Blue was in a community theater group at the time, and many of her fellow actors were gay, she said. She learned about AIDS from them. She was also an avid quilter. "My friends said, 'I hear they're looking for people to make panels in an AIDS Quilt.'" Blue began making quilted panels for families who could not sew their own. Soon, she was also volunteering for the AIDS hotline, something she still does 12 years later. Blue also participates in the AIDS Project's buddy program, which pairs volunteers with people who have AIDS.

"You go through the whole death and dying with them," Blue said. In 13 years she has had 10 buddies - all but one has died, she said. Besides her work for the AIDS Project, Blue, who works as a therapy assistant for preschool children, also volunteers as a coach for Special Olympics Rhode Island. She said she simply loves to volunteer. "I love to help people," she said. "If the need's there, I'll do it."
011228
AD012251

Copyright © 2001 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD. The CDC National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention provides the following information as a public service only. Providing synopses of key scientific articles and lay media reports on HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis does not constitute CDC endorsement. This daily update also includes information from CDC and other government agencies, such as background on Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) articles, fact sheets, press releases and announcements. Reproduction of this text is encouraged; however, copies may not be sold, and the CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update should be cited as the source of the information. Contact the sources of the articles abstracted below for full texts of the articles.

AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2001. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.