Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bay Windows - July 27, 2006
Caroline Perry
Founded in 1987 by members of Portsmouth's gay and lesbian community, ARS was originally a grass-roots response to the AIDS epidemic. Volunteers created a buddy system, auction co-chair Siobhan Senier explains: "A lot of organizations used them back in the 80s. A person gets diagnosed with AIDS and they have a lot of needs, and mainly gay men would partner up with people who'd been diagnosed ... help them get to the doctors, help them grocery shop, hold their hand while they died."
"Now," she says, "we have client services and case managers to do that." ARS began receiving federal funding in the early 90s, prompted by the Ryan White CARE Act. But while federal funding helps keep organizations like ARS alive, it doesn't always make things easy.
Although some of ARS's services are covered by federal funding, such as transportation to doctors' appointments, the federal restrictions on how the money is spent are often impractical - for example, requiring patients to take taxis rather than have volunteers drive them. The money raised by the auction can help ARS provide lower-cost, more convenient transportation.
The fundraising also helps ARS's education department to be less reliant on government dollars. "The CDC [Centers for Disease Control] has put so many restrictions on what we can say at education programs," says Senier, "it lets us be a little bit freer... talking about things other than abstinence."
The many items to be auctioned include gift certificates, sculptures, pottery, furniture, an autographed Red Sox photo and vacation tickets. Dinner will be provided by McIntosh College's Atlantic Culinary Academy along with desserts, coffee, and a full bar.
ARS has held an auction every year for 21 years - fundraising began before the organization officially became a non-profit. Last year's event raised around $60,000.
The Twilight Auction begins at 4 p.m. at the Frank Jones Center on the Route 1 bypass in Portsmouth. Tickets are $25. Call Candace Copp at 603.433.5377 x2234.
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